KOCHI: Women in the city have got something to be relived of. The city corporation is planning to construct a minimum of 14 women-friendly toilets in the city.Kochi, which claim the tag of metropolitan , doesn’t have adequate public toilets, let alone women-friendly toilets.While preparing the draft plan as part of the people’s plan campaign for 2019-20, corporation authorities have prepared projects for constructing women-friendly toilets in the city.“There are complaints that the city doesn’t have enough public toilets, especially for women . That’s why we ae giving focus on providing such facilities this time,” said corporation standing committee chairperson for development Gracy Joseph.Proper maintenance is key to ensuring that such facilities last long. Though the local body had set up e-toilets in the city a few years ago, most of them became defunct due to technical problems and poor maintenance.“We are thinking of setting up women-friendly toilets attached to institutions such as anganawadis and stalls operated by women. Then, employees of such institutions would see that the toilets are clean. In case of standalone toilets, which will be set up in public places, certain measures will have to be taken for their proper maintenance. We can deploy our staff from health circles concerned for the maintenance,” Joseph said.There would be adequate facilities for wash and changing clothes in the toilets. More space compared to conventional toilets is another feature of women-friendly toilets.The local body is planning to earmark Rs 5 lakh for the construction of each toilet. The local body authorities are yet to give a final shape for the project. The proposal would be discussed in detail at the council meeting to be held on Tuesday.“The councillors representing each division should suggest places where the toilet is to be constructed,” Joseph said.According to experts in the public amenity services, two things that damage public toilets are lack of proper upkeep and vandalism.“The proposal is a welcome move as the city doesn’t have any women-friendly toilets. If there is a cleaning staffer, both issues can be addressed,” said P A Hashim, MD of Aswas Public Amenities Kerala Ltd, a company floated by the state government for setting up public amenities.“All the devices in the toilet should be of superior quality. It should be accessible to all, including the disabled people. There should be facilities for breastfeeding as well,” he said.There should be toilets for men also. “When a couple is there, the men also would require the facility,” he said.The corporation plans to set up breastfeeding kiosks at a couple of locations.

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