A public toilet on Hai Ba Trung street, Hanoi (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Public toilets havebeen a neglected part amid development changes in Hanoi, with just above 370ones currently operating to serve its 7.7 million residents and a large numberof domestic and foreign visitors.
The shortage of public toilets in thecapital city has forced many to struggle to find a proper place to feel“relief”. Others resort to out-of-the-way corners such as bushes, stumps of bigtrees or walls along the street, even when prohibition notices are there. Dueto a lack of nearby restrooms, Thong Nhat park and bus stations on Quan Su andTran Nhat Duat streets could be named among hotspots inflicted by disorderly publicurination. The negative behaviour hurts the capital’s image, but still happens.
A new Government decree, which took effecton February 1, 2017, stipulated that people who are caught urinating in publicwill be fined between 1 and 3 million VND (44-133 USD). But enforcement remainssporadic.
For the existing public toilets, maintenanceand hygiene is also an issue, hindering access to the scarce service.
To serve increased demand of the public,particularly during holidays and major public events, the local authoritieshave erected temporary restrooms, but they just solved the problem in shortterms.
In another bid to address the shortage, themunicipal People’s Committee approved in principle the construction of 1,000public toilets across the city in 2016, with Vinasing Trading and CommunicationJSC selected for the job. The company said it would sponsor the building ofthese facilities in exchange to be allowed to put up advertising billboards onthe city’s footbridges and overpasses in ten years.
By the end of 2017, only 165 toilets werecompleted, of which 98 have opened to the public. Residents complained thatVinasing’s toilets have faulty or damaged associated facilities, hence thecompany has had to halt its construction.-VNA
