Build public toilets soon

(Baonghean) - As a first-class urban area, Vinh City is expected to become the political and cultural center of the North Central region. However, up to now, the planning of public toilet systems to serve the minimum needs of the people, especially tourists, has not received due attention.

Ms. Tran Thi Huong, a tourist from Ho Chi Minh City, once confided, “I have traveled to many places, but in Vinh, I was quite surprised because I could not find any public toilets. Once, when I was traveling to Vinh with my family, while walking on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, my child had a stomachache and could not find a toilet, so my husband and I had to take a taxi to take him back to the hotel to solve the problem.” According to Ms. Huong, “this may be a small problem, easy to solve for local people, but it is a big problem for visitors from far away like us.”

Not only on the main roads but also in some flower gardens in the city, such as Cua Nam flower garden; Tam Giac flower garden, there is no sign of a construction serving this very basic need. Or in the Ho Chi Minh Square area, where many people often gather to play and visit, although there is a modern toilet construction, it is rarely opened. Some officials and employees working here said that the toilet is only opened on important occasions at the square, otherwise it is closed and not opened regularly...

In crowded places such as Vinh Bus Station, Vinh Market, Vinh Railway Station, Central Park... there are toilets, but these constructions were built by the management units there, so they collect fees. However, the fee collection does not follow any regulations and is not cleaned regularly, so it is very unhygienic. Even more inappropriate, although a toilet was built quite grandly like in area C7, Quang Trung ward, it is now closed, with the reason that the construction location is unreasonable, so it is protested by the people...

The toilet in front of Building C7, Quang Trung Ward has now become an advertising kiosk.

Regarding the planning of public toilet construction, it is known that according to Decision 265/QD.UBND-CN, dated January 19, 2012 of the Provincial People's Committee on approving the planning of the construction of the system of overpasses, parking lots and public toilets in Vinh City, the whole city will build a total of 72 public toilets. Of which: 38 fixed type facilities will be arranged at bus stations and parking lots.

Particularly at Ho Chi Minh Square, which is arranged according to the approved detailed plan, the works are arranged underground deep into the simulated Chung Mountain area; For the main streets, 18 works are arranged in the markets, 10 works combined with sanitary works at gas stations and 6 works on the main streets and public places. For example, from Nghi Lien area to Vinh market, there will be 4 works; from Ha Huy Tap street to the Square area, there will be 2 works... In total, there will be 10 streets with scattered public toilets.

Restrooms in the Square area are locked...

Also according to Decision 265, public sanitation facilities located in markets will be managed by the market management board with service fee collection. The capital for construction will be provided by the organizations and units managing the market. Facilities at bus stations and parking lots will be managed and charged by the organizations and agencies directly managing the bus stations. Sanitation facilities in parks and flower gardens will be managed by the city with fee collection, invested by the state budget... However, the decision is like that but in reality, construction has not been implemented.

According to Mr. Nguyen Quoc Thang - Head of the City's Urban Management Department, it is currently not possible to implement Decision 256 because it is currently very difficult to plan the location of toilets. On some main roads and centers, houses have been built close to both sides of the road. Meanwhile, the arrangement of toilets must be reasonable and in a suitable location to effectively promote the function of the project. It cannot be placed far away, in areas that are out of sight, as this is both wasteful and ineffective. Furthermore, due to the limited budget for building facilities and infrastructure, the city is prioritizing upgrading school buildings, so it has not been implemented yet.

Mr. Phu Van Phuong - Deputy Director of Nghe An Urban Environment Company Limited also added that the lack of public toilets is a disadvantage for a large city. Therefore, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the city's founding, the company had to arrange a number of mobile toilets around the square area to serve the needs of the people. However, it was only for that event, and in the long term, arranging the location is very difficult, because in reality, even placing a garbage truck on the road in front of people's houses has been opposed, let alone a toilet... That is also the reason why the toilet in area C7 has been closed for a long time.

Obviously, arranging a location to build and install a sanitary facility is not easy, but it is not impossible. For example, in big cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, land is limited and population is dense, but public sanitary facilities are still arranged to be built. Can Vinh City not do it? Hopefully, with due attention, in the near future, the city will plan a reasonable location and have a plan to build public toilets, solving the minimum needs of both local people and tourists, ensuring the criteria of a civilized and modern urban area.

QA