Most public toilets in Faisalabad shut down amid civic neglect
Water and Sanitation Agency workers clean a sewerage drain amidst a downpour in Faisalabad. Sanitation and water supply responsibilities in several more cities have been transferred from municipal corporations to WASA. Photo: APP
Apathy and administrative neglect have left Faisalabad's public sanitation system in disarray, with 12 out of 14 public toilets rendered non-functional since 2016 — forcing thousands of residents to resort to open defecation.
According to sources in the Metropolitan Corporation (MC), the now-defunct City District Government, led by then-DCO Naseem Sadiq, had constructed 14 public toilet points in 2014 in response to growing sanitation needs.
The operational rights were contracted to private individuals and firms, many from the Christian community. However, after the abolition of the city district government system during the Imran Khan administration and the reintroduction of the old magistracy model, these facilities were effectively abandoned.
As civic oversight faded, the neglected toilet facilities became targets of theft and vandalism. Criminal elements reportedly looted iron doors, railings, water pumps, electric meters, taps, wiring and even roofing materials — reducing most structures to derelict shells.
Municipal Officer (Finance) Muhammad Awais Gondal confirmed that 12 toilet points — located at Lady Park, Gumti Chowk, Chiniot Bazar, GTS Chowk, Abdullahpur Bridge, Kotwali Road, Jhang Road, Crescent High School, Millat Town, City Transport Terminal, Canal Park and Fire Brigade Station - were initially handed over to the Faisalabad Waste Management Company (FWMC) for maintenance. However, he said the FWMC later "abandoned the civic facility for reasons best known to them."
Gondal added that only two toilets, located at Railway Road and Dhobi Ghat, remain under MC's operation.
"We are preparing a plan to dismantle the old structures and rebuild new, sustainable facilities," he said.
"The existing infrastructure is outlived and deteriorating by the day."
However, FWMC spokesperson Mateeb Virk rejected the MC's claims, clarifying that "no agreement or arrangement was ever made" regarding the handover of toilet maintenance. "Such responsibilities don't fall within the FWMC's operational mandate," he said.
Industrialist and civil society activist Chaudhary Muzammal Waraich lamented the state of public sanitation in what is known as the "Manchester of Pakistan."