Ring road lacks public toilets, causes inconvenience to vehicle operator

By Laxman Darnal, Kathmandu, June 25: It takes 2.5 hours to go through the Ring road, which covers 27 kilometers of Kathmandu Valley, but it lacks the basic amenity of toileting. This in turn has caused a hassle to drivers, co-drivers, commuters and even passengers. Drivers, co-drivers are faced with relieving themselves in the open space, under the bridge, or in petrol pumps. 

Entrepreneurs said that it causes difficulty to defecate while driving, as there are no proper roadside public toilets. Even if there is one, one has to cross the lane to go to the toilet, which is an impossible task while driving on a busy ring road. On top of that, if you get stuck in a traffic jam, you have no choice but to hold your breath and wait. 

Metropolitan Transport driver Binod Dhamala said that he faces a lot of problems when he has to urinate or defecate.

Dhamala of Neelkantha Municipality -1 of Dhading district said, "Sometimes, I go to the toilet of petrol where I know people. Even there, they scold me if I don't fill up with oil. There is no point in filling up with oil at all the pumps. There is one in Chabahil, but we have to be travelling on the same side, otherwise we go under the Balkumari bridge.”

He pointed out that there is not enough time to go to the toilet and relieve oneself.

He said, "If we park the vehicle and take time to go to the toilet, then traffic will come and give a fine slip. So, there is no way to go. We cannot leave the vehicle due to the traffic jam. There is no designated place. It is not as easy for us as it is for pedestrians."

Driver of Nepal Yatayat Ganesh Thapa Magar said, "After leaving Balkumari, we go to Gopikrishna. We wait even if we want to go to the loo in between Balkumari and Gopikrishna. It is not possible to stop the vehicle and go looking for a toilet. We go under the bridge and into the open space in Gopikrishna." 

The driver complains that despite repeatedly asking their company and the metropolitan city for a toilet, their voices have not been heard.

Kathmandu Metropolitan City has designated public toilets in coordination with the private and social sectors. Toilets in shopping malls, hotels, restaurants, party palaces, schools and banks have been designated as public toilets, but drivers in the Kathmandu Valley are not able to use them.

There are a few toilets built along the ring road. The metropolis has designated the toilets of the Nabil Bank Dhapasi branch and Chabahil branch as public toilets. Hospital toilets have been designated. However, businessmen say that the problem is that the toilets at the locations designated by the metropolis are not suitable for drivers.

He said, "Even though petrol pumps are marked as public toilets but it is not feasible to go to the toilet in a petrol pump besides while filling the tank. Traffic comes once we park vehicles, and parking even for a moment causes a traffic jam. 

Keshav Nepal, General Secretary of Mahanagar Yatayat Private Limited, said, “There are no public toilets on the ring road. Even those that do exist are not suitable for drivers to use. Therefore, if there is a parking facility at a specific location, it will be useful for us.”

Nepal said, "There are public toilets in Rantnapark, Bhirkutimandap, but drivers of Kathamdnu Valley are unable to use them."

Driver Thapa said that it will be easier if there are toilets on each side of the road, as it because feasible to urinate and come on time. 

He further pointed out the high cost of toileting. It takes Rs 10 once you enter the bathroom. It is costly for us even to relieve ourselves. 

Currently, there are a total of 48 public toilets in various locations. According to the metropolis, some are also run by the private sector.

Narendra Bilas Bajracharya, head of the public-private partnership unit of the metropolis, said that apart from the bus park, no toilets have been built specifically for public vehicles.

 He said that even though there are toilets, they may have been inconvenienced due to traffic management.

Assistant Spokesperson of the KMC, Dhurba Kumar Kafle, said, "The policy of KMC is one bus park. One has to depart from the bus park; however, vehicle operators don't adhere to it. There is a toilet in the New bus park targeting the ring road. It is not possible to go to the toilet everywhere where a vehicle stops. Regarding the ring road, we cannot build it until the land is released for the ring road.