Of the city’s first five public e-toilets built now, four are ready for public use.

Built
by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL) for Mangaluru City
Corporation, two each are in Lalbagh and Kadri Park and another one is
near the Government Wenlock Hospital in Hampankatta.

The public sector oil company has built them under its corporate social responsibility, a corporation official told
The Hindu
.

They said that the toilet near the hospital cannot be
commissioned immediately due to an issue pertaining to linking it to the
sewage network. A portion of the concrete road would have to be cut for
taking up this work.

The other four toilets have been provided with water, electricity facility and linked to the sewage network.

M.
Vasanta Rao, Chief Regional Manager, HPCL, said that the company spent
Rs. 30 lakh on them at Rs. 6 lakh each. He said that the toilets would
be commissioned this month, if possible next week. A user could enter
the toilet by inserting Rs. 1 coin and also coins of other denomination.

The
corporation official said that the unmanned toilet had automatic
flushing and sanitising facility. When a user entered it, lights and the
exhaust fan will switch on automatically and go off once the user
leaves the toilet. Hand wash facility will also be available.

Mr.
Rao said that the company would hand them over to the civic body after
they are commissioned. They would have to be maintained by the
corporation.

He said that the company would continue to associate
with the civic body this year too. It could be building more public
toilets or any other project as suggested by the civic body.

Mangaluru selected under smart city mission of the Union government hitherto lacked e-toilets.