Ground Report: Gachibowli's DLF Food Street caters to the city's midnight cravings but has only one public toilet

Hyderabad: Shruti Varghese took a whole minute to decide whether she should use the public toilet at Hyderabad's go-to place, DLF Food Street.

Shruti works in Bengaluru and was here visiting her relatives. Like most Hyderabadis, she craved a crispy dosa and podi idli at 2 a.m. So, she drove from Kukatpally to Gachibowli.

From idly to burgers to smoothies to Maggie, the food street has a little bit of everything. The food street truly comes alive at night and is one of the only places where people can fulfill their midnight cravings. However, the street has only one public washroom.

"I did not notice the toilet. A vendor told us that there was one near the DLF tobacco shop. There was no light in the washroom and I could see a men's urinal from the gap as the door was open. It was stinking really bad from the outside but I had to use the washroom," Shruti said.

She took a deep breath and went inside the poorly maintained washroom. "The stench only got worse and I was hoping to find a light switch. I didn't find it and I couldn't take the smell so I just came back," she said.

Ahead of World Toilet Day on 19 November, NewsMeter took a walk along DLF Food Street. There are several cafes and restaurants, but there is only one public washroom on the street and it is in very poor condition. There is no light in the washroom and it has a few leaky pipes.

The public toilet on DLF Food Street has both urinals and a western commode in one stall. This toilet falls under the GHMC Serilingampally zone (circle 20).

"The washroom was closed until a few weeks ago. It was locked up citing that there have been some water issues for many months. People began putting up to-let posters on its walls," said P. Dheeraj, a vendor on DLF street.

The vendors say that there is a need for more clean public washrooms.

"Post-midnight, the food street becomes crowded and public urination is very common around here. Many people urinate publicly on the road adjacent to the food street, near GHMC park," Dheeraj said.

"When hundreds of individuals are visiting DLF street daily, maintaining basic facilities should be the priority of the local governing body in the area. Maintaining a bustling food street without proper toilet facilities is a shame. Irrespective of gender, all deserve to avail of basic infrastructure in a metro city like Hyderabad," said Kiran Narayanan who visited the food street a month ago. When Kiran came here, the toilet was locked.

There are 2173 toilet units in six GHMC zones in which there are 5512 toilet seats (3047 male and 2465 female).