Bengaluru, Jul 22 (PTI) Bengaluru city, with 1.4 crore people, has only about 900 public toilets, making it one public toilet for every 25,000 to 30,000 citizens, revealed a public toilet audit report released by a voluntary organisation on Wednesday.
The report prepared by the Bangalore Political Action Committee (B.PAC) highlighted that while Bengaluru has grown into a global city with a population exceeding 1.4 crore, public sanitation infrastructure has failed to keep pace.
“With only 800–900 public toilets across the city (479 officially listed under GBA), Bengaluru has approximately one public toilet for every 25,000–30,000 citizens, far below the city’s growing needs,” says the report.
The organisation said that the audit conducted during April and May 2026 by its civic leaders and student volunteers unit, B.CLIP, provides a comprehensive assessment of the city’s public sanitation infrastructure, focusing on functionality, hygiene, accessibility, safety, and user experience.
The audit reveals serious concerns about the condition and accessibility of public toilets across Bengaluru: Of the 142 public toilets audited across Central, North, South and West Bengaluru, 37 toilets (26 per cent) were completely non-functional.
“Only six toilets (4.2 per cent) were rated ‘Very Clean’. 58 per cent of toilets have persistent foul odour. Only 56 per cent of toilets are adequately lit, raising significant safety concerns, especially for women,” the report said.
According to the report, only nine toilets have ramps, making nearly 94 per cent inaccessible to persons with disabilities.
Water was available in only around 40 per cent of functional toilets, while none of the toilets had soap dispensers or dustbins.
B.PAC said that only 15 per cent of the caretakers were women. Also, contractor information and user charges were largely absent, limiting public accountability.
“Bengaluru’s sanitation challenge is no longer merely about constructing toilets—it is about ensuring that existing facilities remain functional, safe, inclusive and well maintained,” B.PAC said.
It recommended launching a 30-day emergency repair campaign to restore all non-functional public toilets and creating a single Public Toilet Management Cell under the Greater Bengaluru Authority for unified planning, monitoring and maintenance.
It also asked the civic authorities to shift from “Build-Only” contracts to five-year Operate & Maintain (O&M) contracts, with strict performance monitoring and contract termination for poor maintenance.
It has asked the Greater Bengaluru Authority to ensure uninterrupted water supply, lighting, soap dispensers, dustbins and regular maintenance in every public toilet.
The organisation has asked the authorities to prioritise women-friendly and gender-inclusive public toilets, including She-Toilets and transgender-inclusive facilities. It also recommended strengthening community participation by involving Residents Welfare Associations (RWAs), Non-Government Organisations and citizen groups in monitoring public toilets.
B.CLIP Head, Raghavendra Poojari H S urged the state government and the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) to construct more than 1,000 modern, user-friendly, inclusive, and well-maintained public toilets across Bengaluru through GBA and the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.
He also appealed for priority to be given to locations such as bus stations, metro stations, markets, parks, tourist destinations, construction sites, and other high-footfall areas while planning new public toilets.
B.PAC CEO Revathi Ashok underlined that if Bengaluru aspires to be a global city, it cannot afford to overlook these fundamental civic necessities. PTI GMS GMS ADB
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