Public sector hygiene

The P.S.U.s have, over the years, found some innovative ways of coping with the problems of maintenance of their premises .Most of the government buildings and the premises whether owned or rented by the P.S.Us have to perpetually contend with public and their employees dirtying the premises at a faster pace than their maintenance department could cope..One of the biggest menaces is the colourful pan-stains in the corners of the staircases. The sight of the vulgar-looking blotches in the corners of the stairs is repulsive to even a casual visitor. No matter how many times you have the corners white-washed the stains come back again with the same promptness.

Every office has a chaiwallah cart and a fully-equipped pan-shop just outside the office complex and the temptation to chew betel-leaves becomes strong after downing cups of sticky chai during breaks. The employees spray all the available foot-paths with the red fluid and then the residual fluid is liberally spattered on the corners of the stairs. One of the government departments has found a very practicable solution to the problem. They had some small images of Hindu Gods and Goddesses embedded in the walls of the corners. That stopped the spray-paints on the corners once and for all.

Some of the multi-storied buildings housing our offices have toilet blocks right at the entrance of the buildings, very close to the lifts and the stair-cases. A powerful odor of urine greets the visitor as soon as he enters the building. The toilets are seldom maintained and you don’t have even running water in many of them. Lack of water acts as no deterrent to the toilet-users who also have no choice in the matter. We are very fatalistic in our general outlook and we really don’t care about their deleterious effects on the public health. The toilet blocks are designed with extreme lack of care and fitted with the poorest of the fittings. Continuous and ongoing exposure to the stench makes you entirely philosophical.At a newly opened branch of a public sector bank the piss-pots have been designed in such a way that only the tallest can train their piss-stream into them. Obviously the average Indian height has not been taken into account while fitting the pots and it takes quite a bit of acrobatic skill to use the pot without spilling the piss all over.

The public and the staff are quite content with the facility available because at several village branches the staff has to “go into the fields” to “answer the call of nature “(a glorious phrase in circulation in the P.S.U. circles!). Another related phrase in use in Indian English, incidentally ,"making water " . An Orissa politician , addressing a press conference is credited with the assertion that after becoming a minister he will" make water" in all nooks and corners of the State. In some parts of the country , when asked where an employee has gone leaving his counter his colleagues will promptly reply that he has gone to "make water "! In a public sector bank administrative office there are separate toilets for ladies , gentlemen and officers . Obviously officers belong to neither category !