Now, loo with an aquarium

In an effort to beautify its public urinals ahead of the Commonwealth Games, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has installed an aquarium in one of its loos at Shahjahan Road. While the civic agency is looking at other viable options to make public loos look more pleasant, it hasn't ruled out installing aquariums at other urinals as well.

NDMC is constructing 25 new public toilets in New Delhi area in time for the Games and is also upgrading 42 existing toilets. These will be constructed and maintained by a private company which will be allowed to advertise on these toilet blocks for generating revenue.

"For providing better service, the toilets — coming up at strategic locations like Shanker Market, Ashoka Road, Gole Market, Janpath Lane, near RML Hospital, Parliament Street, KG Marg, etc — are expected to have diaper-changing boards, shelves among others. We have started construction work for new toilets and are upgrading the existing ones. We want these to be more visually-appealing for the public and have installed an aquarium in one toilet at Shahjahan Road. We will look at installing more aquariums in other urinals, if it is viable," said an NDMC official. The public will not be charged for using them.

Work on the upgrade of 42 other toilets north of Rajpath has also started. There will be minor structural changes at these to ensure easy maintenance. Added an official: "New glasses, toilet pots and washbasins are being added and once the toilets are ready, NDMC's health department will keep a regular check on their cleanliness. The company advertising on these toilet blocks and eight of our garbage stations will pay us Rs 22 lakh per month."