Now, you may locate a loo with the help of a mobile app. In an initiative supported by the Water and Sanitation Program, a team of IT experts and professors Team PeeQ demonstrated an application that helps mobile phone users locate the closest public loo.
Delhiites find this app to be a helpful tool, especially women who think it would spare them the embarrassment of asking strangers about the nearest loo in a market area or other public places.
Shweta Kaushal, a media professional, says that recently at one of the Metro stations in West Delhi she wanted to use a loo. “I couldn’t find any guard or housekeeping staff, so I had to ask commuters if they knew where the washroom was. It was embarrassing as many were clueless. This app may be really helpful in situations like this,” she says.
Management professional Abhishek Shrivastava says that he had to walk almost two kilometres once in South Ex to locate a toilet. “Later, I got to know that the nearest one was right next to the place where I was earlier. In the hour of desperation, this app could have been really helpful. However, this is a good development,” he says.
But there are some who are not really sure if this would work. Some think that in a country like India where there are so few public toilets, an app like this is useless. “Also, if you ask a woman, there are hardly any loos that are clean enough to be used by them. And I feel the app would cover only the major areas and not the unknown streets where you really need help. But if it’s otherwise, it may be useful,” says Shweta Dhyani, a communication professional.