PATNA: The modular toilets installed by the Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC), which were to be thrown open for public at the beginning of this month, are locked and gathering dust now.The civic body had announced in September last that it selected two private agencies for installation of 400 modular toilets in the city by the end of December as part of the Centre’s Swachh Bharat Mission. As of now, 60 toilets have been installed near Patna Dental College Ashok Rajpath and Gandhi Maidan roundabout, among other locations, while 40 are in the process of getting installed.According to additional municipal commissioner D P Tiwary, lack of water connectivity is the reason behind the locked toilets.“The Bihar Rajya Jal Parshad has been asked to resolve the issue of water connectivity as soon as possible. We will open the modular toilets for public use in a week,” he told this newspaper on Thursday.PMC sources claimed the target of installing the remaining 300 modular toilets was likely to be met in the next two to three months.The toilets, being installed by private firms as part of their corporate social responsibilities, will have two units each — one for men and another for women. The cost of setting up a modular toilet is Rs 5 lakh.Most public toilets in the city, especially the ones near the Patna Junction roundabout and Gandhi Maidan, wear a shabby look and are poorly maintained. Rajendra Nagar resident Abhilash Anand said, “Office-goers and college students have to face a lot of difficulties as most public toilets are unhygienic and non-functional.”

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