Archive · 5 Aug 2026
Bhopal Women Struggle for Clean Toilets Despite Women-Led Civic Administration
Bhopal is a city in India with a woman mayor and a woman municipal commissioner.
Even so, many women say they cannot find clean public toilets when they go shopping.
Public toilets are bathrooms people can use when they are away from home.
Most big markets in Bhopal do not have toilets just for women.
The toilets that do exist are often dirty, smelly, and missing soap or water.
Some even use curtains instead of doors.
To avoid these toilets, women drink less water or hold their pee, which can harm their health.
A doctor says this can lead to painful infections like UTIs.
The mayor says there are enough toilets and that they are cleaned regularly.
Women hope for cleaner, safer toilets in the future.
Bhopal's mayor and municipal commissioner are both women, yet women's access to clean, exclusive public toilets remains neglected.
Major commercial markets lack women's restrooms, and existing toilets are filthy, lack proper signage, and have no handwashing facilities.
Some toilets have curtains instead of doors, broken taps, missing cisterns and wet floors; caretakers say soap is stolen, so it is only supplied on request.
A Smart City bio-toilet on Lake View Road is shut, and the Sulabh Shauchalaya at Chowk Bazar in the Old City is so filthy that few women use it.
Mayor Malti Rai says the city has an adequate number of regularly cleaned toilets, while gynaecologist Rachana Dubey warns holding urine or using dirty toilets can cause UTIs and other infections.
- Who
- Women in Bhopal, Mayor Malti Rai, the woman municipal commissioner, gynaecologist Rachana Dubey and counsellor Shail Awasthi.
- What
- Women are struggling to access clean, exclusive public toilets in Bhopal's markets; existing facilities are dirty, poorly signposted and short of water, soap and working fittings.
- When
- Not specified in the articles.
- Where
- Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, including New Market, the Old City, Lake View Road and Polytechnic Square.
- Why
- Because neglected sanitation facilities and fears of dirty toilets push women to hold urine or drink less water, posing health risks such as UTIs and other infections.
Women residents and health experts
Bhopal civic administration
Availability of women's toilets
Women residents and health experts
Women say major markets lack exclusive women's restrooms, existing ones lack signage and are hard for visitors to find; they want clean toilets provided, even if paid.
Bhopal civic administration
Mayor Malti Rai says the city has an adequate number of toilets for men and women, citing women's toilets at Somwara, Kotwali and Chowk in the Old City and one near New Market's multi-storeyed parking facility.
Cleanliness and upkeep
Women residents and health experts
Residents describe the toilets as filthy, foul-smelling and lacking water, soap, doors and working cisterns, with a Smart City bio-toilet shut and old-city facilities unused due to dirt.
Bhopal civic administration
The mayor says the toilets are cleaned regularly and that caretakers who have adopted them ensure they are well maintained.
- City
- Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
- Mayor
- Malti Rai (woman)
- Municipal Commissioner
- A woman (name not given)
- Sulabh Shauchalayas in New Market
- 3 - near Kwality Restaurant, Gagar Sweets and GTB Complex
- Old City women's public toilets
- 3 locations: Somwara, Kotwali and Chowk
- Smart City bio-toilet (Lake View Road)
- Shut
- Health risks cited
- Bladder pressure, UTIs, STIs and genital infections
- Gynaecologist quoted
- Rachana Dubey