RAJSHAHI, May 3, 2023 (BSS) - Women-friendly public toilets will be set up in Rajshahi City aimed at making the toilets in public places safe for women together with improving their health and hygiene.

In the preliminary stage, one toilet in the Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC), two in mosques, two in restaurants and one each in school and Rajshahi New Market will be transformed into women-friendly.

The infrastructural improvement will be executed with intervention of the 'Impact Accelerator Innovation' Project to be implemented by WaterAid Bangladesh supported by the "Who Gives a Crap". RCC will extend its overall support to implement the project successfully.

These were revealed in a ward level meeting of the project held at Rajshahi Women Government Degree College here Tuesday afternoon.

With Principal of the college Prof Zubaida Ayesha Siddiqua in the chair, the meeting was addressed, among others, by WaterAid Zonal Coordinator Rezaul Huda Milon,. RCC Councilor Abdul Momin, Chief Revenue Officer Abu Saleh Nur-E-Sayeed and Chief Community Development Officer Azizur Rahman.

Babul Bala, Programme Manager of the WaterAid Bangladesh, portrayed the aims, objectives and implementation strategy of the project during his multimedia presentation.

He said the project is intended to improve women-friendly sanitation systems through coordination with the institutions concerned in the selected areas led by the RCC.

Particularly, emphasis will be given on improving sanitation system in restaurants, educational institutions, shopping centre, offices and mosques after situation analysis.

The meeting was also told that separate toilets will be set up for the men and women and services will be delivered by women attendants.

Security will be ensured through close circuit cameras and there will be special arrangements for the persons with disabilities.

Apart from this, there will be provisions of safe drinking water, breastfeeding corner and hand washing in the public toilets.

Rezaul Huda Milon told the meeting that around 10,000 climate migrants will get clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene support in ten slum areas of Rajshahi city.

To this end, 51 resilient and context-specific facilities will be installed and renovated besides installation and renovation of 28 community toilets.

Apart from this, 104 community people will be imparted caretaker training for operation and maintenance of the hardware options

The development activities are being implemented on behalf of a three-year project titled “Composite Actions for Climate Migrants in Urban Slums (CACMUS)” being implemented by WaterAid Bangladesh and Village Education Resource Centre (VERC).

As a whole, the project is intended to establish replicable community-managed water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services, facilitate better economic opportunities for the beneficiaries, and link climate migrants with microfinance services and pro-poor WASH services provided by the city authorities.