Bhubaneswar's Smart City Toilets Fall Into Disrepair, Prompting Municipal Action
The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has announced a comprehensive repair and maintenance initiative for the city's modular e-toilets, following persistent complaints from citizen reporters about widespread operational failures. Once celebrated as a key component of Bhubaneswar's smart city transformation, numerous e-toilet units have become dysfunctional due to technical issues and inadequate upkeep.
Citizen Reporters Expose Systemic Failures
Sumiit Miishra, a concerned citizen reporter, documented that many e-toilets are currently unusable because of jammed doors, malfunctioning sensors, and broken display screens. "Most of these hi-tech toilets are just showpieces now. They were installed with much fanfare, but hardly any are operational," Miishra reported on the TOI Citizen Reporter portal. He further noted that some units have deteriorated into unofficial garbage dumping sites, compounding the civic problem.
Bhargavi Jena, another active citizen reporter, criticized the fundamental planning oversights regarding essential utilities. "The lack of planning for upkeep, water supply, and staffing left these units gathering dust," Jena stated. She urged municipal authorities to ensure basic infrastructure connections are established before commissioning such ambitious public projects in the future.
Akash Nayak observed that the facilities rarely functioned consistently even during their initial operational months. Many now suffer from power shutdowns and damaged ventilation panels. "Some became hotspots for littering due to poor upkeep. These should have been provided as a quality civic service to the people of the smart city. Instead, those are lying like un-utilised facilities now. Authorities should look into it," Nayak emphasized in his report.
Municipal Response and Commitment
In response to these mounting concerns, Bhubaneswar City Mayor Sulochana Das assured residents that the civic body is entering a corrective phase. "All the defunct toilets will be identified and the issues will be fixed soon. We will take up proper repair and upkeep on a priority basis," she declared. Mayor Das reiterated BMC's commitment to enhancing civic services and pledged to encourage greater public utilization of the facilities once repairs are completed. "People will be encouraged to use the smart facilities," she affirmed.
Background on Bhubaneswar's E-Toilet Infrastructure
The BMC originally installed 60 modular e-toilets across Bhubaneswar in 2018 as part of the smart city mission. These prefabricated stainless steel units operate on an automated platform and are gender-segregated, with 30 designated as 'He-toilets' for males and 30 as 'She-toilets' for females. Among the total installations, 40 toilets are semi-automatic with manual operation, while 20 are fully automatic, requiring card- or coin-based entry for access.
This repair drive represents a critical effort to restore what was envisioned as modern, accessible public sanitation infrastructure, addressing both technical malfunctions and community concerns about maintenance neglect.
