Locked Public Toilets, Family Cooking Outside Facility Expose Bhopal's Sanitation Failures Ahead Of Swachh Survekshan 2026

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): After heaps of legacy waste dumped at Adampur emerged as one of the biggest reasons behind Bhopal's poor performance in Swachh Survekshan 2025-26, another major failure has come to light.

On Friday, a video from MP Nagar area on Maida Mills Road surfaced, showing a family cooking outside a locked public toilet, highlighting the poor use of civic infrastructure.

Ahead of the 2026 survey, Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) was supposed to construct 150 public toilets including urinals.

However, most of them remain incomplete or locked due to land disputes and other issues. Following the survey team's visit, it emerged that several toilets were inaccessible. Local residents also alleged that some locked facilities had been encroached upon.

Multiple parameters expose BMC's failures

Bhopal's shortcomings extend several parameters under 12,500 marks survey. They include:

Public sanitation (1,000 marks): Several public toilets remain locked or lack regular maintenance.

Visual cleanliness (1,500 marks): Garbage remains scattered along roadsides while internal colonies lack regular cleaning.

Door-to-door collection (1,000 marks): Garbage vehicles fail to reach several colonies daily despite repeated complaints.

Waste processing (1,500 marks): Legacy waste at Adampur remains a major challenge, with the matter pending before the Supreme Court.

Used water management (1,000 marks): Several drains continue to discharge untreated wastewater into lakes, with inadequate reuse facilities.

Public awareness (1,500 marks): Campaigns against plastic use and for citizen participation have failed to make sufficient ground-level impact.

Ecosystem strengthening (1,000 marks): Ageing garbage vehicles, inadequate capacity and poor monitoring affect waste transportation.

Sanitation workers' welfare (500 marks): Low wages and gaps in safety equipment, insurance, medical check-ups and training remain concerns.

Citizen feedback (1,000 marks): Bhopal managed only around 2,550 responses, against more than 9.80 lakh in Indore.

Opposition alleges scam in toilet construction

Leader of Opposition in Bhopal Municipal Corporation Shabista Zaki alleged that tenders were issued for only 105 toilets and several projects could not be completed because of incorrect site selection.

She said many facilities remain incomplete, while those constructed are allegedly of poor quality and locked. She also accused Mayor Malti Rai of dismissing criticism despite the visible condition of these facilities.