Bengaluru: This isn’t the first time that commuters on the brand new metro have had issues with the toilet facilities. Non-existent when it opened on MG Road until a DC expose saw their addition, commuters now say they can't be easily found at the Kempegowda Metro station!
At least that's what Sanjeev Dyamnavar, a transport expert told DC as we did a recce on the new Green Line on Monday. "Though I am sure that there are toilets in the Kempegowda station, I have not been able to find them. I could not find them at the newly opened Yelachenahalli station either. There are no proper signs informing commuters about where the restroom facilities are located," he said.
"I have not found any signboards for toilets, so I thought there were no restrooms at all at Kuvempu Road and RV Road stations, " says student Ashika Rao, a daily commuter, who says that the problem doesn’t end with the missing signboards for toilets. "The signs that direct you to the respective platform are very confusing,” she said.
BMRCL hides its toilets!
Ashwini Mane, another commuter says too has been unable to find any signboards at the Srirampura station. “I could not find a single signboard for toilets but luckily the security personnel directed me to one in no time. Placing signboards at effective spots would save time,” she said. BMRCL however said that restrooms are functioning across all metro stations. “Toilets are in place in all stations, including the ones recently opened. They are mostly situated at the rear end of the stations,” said Vasanth Rao, Chief PRO, BMRCL, adding that "all commuters need to do if they cannot find the toilets is to ask the customer care officials for directions to the pay-and-use toilets," while promising that more signboards would be added at each station, if found necessary.
