ALAPPUZHA: Alappuzha lacks proper sanitation facilities though it is a prominent tourism spot in the country. The municipal administration has, therefore, struck a deal with the hotel owners in the town to provide free toilet facilities to women and children. Mr Thomas Joseph, municipal chairman, who held a meeting with hotel owners the other day, said they had agreed to help in the matter. “The municipality would launch advertisement campaigns in this regard,” he said. The municipality had received many complaints about the poor sanitation provisions in the town, he said.
The Gender Park, constructed by the district panchayat near the general hospital at a cost of Rs 6 crore two years ago here giving priority for the safety of women and children, remains dysfunctional. The park with 50 well-equipped rooms is meant to offer various services to women, including toilet facilities. It was formally opened by Mr G. Sudhakaran, the then MLA, on September 15, 2015. The district panchayat administration says it will be opened soon. Mr G. Venugpal, president, district panchayat, said the project was inaugurated without formulating rules and regulations on its administration.
The previous government in 2014 had announced wayside toilet complexes with restrooms across the state to help the tourists and travellers. Branded as Take-A-Rest, the ‘relax points’ were envisaged on two to 10 cents to be made available by government departments, local self-government bodies and public sector units. But the project has not picked up in Alappuzha. Mr Suvarnan Sivaram, general manager of a major hotel in the town, said they were happy to provide sanitation provisions to women and children though they were not informed of the meeting.
