In East Delhi, girls need escorts to defecate
On paper, East Delhi is "open defecation free". The municipal corporation has done much work towards the tag, including constructing several new toilets. Others, like an 84-seater toilet complex near the JJ cluster at Khichripur, have been renovated. However, incomplete work has had a contradictory effect on the locals, especially women, who are still forced to defecate in the open without safety and security.
The toilet was renovated, but a basic detail was missed
Earlier, women of the locality were forced to go out into the open to defecate. But eight months ago, the complex was renovated. The toilet now has clean, well-maintained infrastructure, and unlike many others, the premises have not been encroached upon for parking or by vegetable sellers. However, the corporation forgot to add a water connection, thus rendering the whole project useless.
Danger from insects, unpaved roads and potholes
Whereas it should have given women a space to defecate safely, they are still harassed by several challenges: there's danger from insects as well as the unpaved surface. A resident reported falling into a pothole on the way to the open field.
But the riskiest element is fear of harassment and assault
But the biggest risk is anti-social elements, who film them while they defecate. Some have reported being chased at night. Once police managed to catch some of them, but they were released soon and returned to what they were doing, a local, Pinki, said. They always have to go out with escorts, mostly other women, for fear of harassment or even assault.
EDMC says solution to the problem is in "final phase"
The complex caretaker blames a fall in the water table for the problem. "It has a dedicated boring but the motor fetches no water anymore. It needs a new boring." Kalyanpuri AAP councillor Kuldeep Kumar says he has been trying since six months but the EDMC hasn't done anything yet. However, an EDMC official says they are in the "final phase" of resolving it.
