Kolkata Metro, lifeline of many commuters, is not concerned about public hygiene as much as they claim about public safety. There are no restrooms at all in any given station, which is unimaginable and embarrassing for one of the icon and pride of Kolkata. Daily, close to a million passengers use the city rail service and the population contains kids, elderlies, and people suffering from various diseases, who by all means make their difficulty abated by having restrooms in all stations. I believe this belongs to the citizen’s right to have public amenities of such kinds, but unfortunately Metro rail authority has not paid heed hitherto.

Today, I witnessed an embarrassing incident while returning from Kalighat to Tollyganj, by Metro, which once again exposed the empty vaunt of Kolkata Metro rail authority. The rake was overcrowded as usual. As we reached Tollyganj, the aggrieved passengers started to rush down. Suddenly, some people realized that their dresses had been partly drenched. The culprit turned out to be a young schoolgirl who could not control herself and relieved herself, inside the compartment. At once the crowd started yelling at her. She could not endure this ignominy for long and burst out into tears. But this horrible incident raised a serious issue. Was it the fault of that child? Is it not shocking that the Kolkata metro rail considered as the lifeline of the city is devoid of any toilet for the passengers, either on the platforms or in the stations!!!!! Thousands of passengers including children, diabetic patients and senior citizens travel through metro rail, every day. Should not they be provided with the minimum facility of using a toilet in the station premises?