It is perplexing that while the government is actively discouraging open defecation and public urination, there exists a notable contradiction in its efforts. In the Gandhi Nagar area of Jammu, a renowned Rehri Zone has been established with apparent half-heartedness, lacking the construction of a public convenience complex nearby.
This oversight forces visitors to resort to relieving themselves in the streets of the neighboring residential colonies, particularly during the evening hours. This situation poses a challenge for residents to venture outside, with individuals often seen standing along the walls of houses, resulting in the undesirable practice of public urination. Such actions not only tarnish the aesthetic appeal of this supposedly upscale locality, named after the Father of the Nation—Mahatma Gandhi—but also introduce an unpleasant odor to the surroundings.
It is really unfortunate that the thriving business of the Rehris in the aforesaid zone is increasing the menace of transformation of nearby streets into open air toilets as many a times people also allege that visitors ( mostly children) often defecate in the dark stretches of these lanes and bylanes as the street lights installed in the area are also quite problematic as many among these were seen glowing during day time but when darkness falls these light sources also go for a break giving room to cars to become liquor bars and people to ease off without any difficulty.
Going by all this, it is the right time for the helmsman to raise an all purpose public convenience complex in the vicinity so that hundreds of visitors of the Rehri Zone could find a place to relieve them and the streets can again become habitable or else the days are not far when almost all the streets opening at the Rehri Zone will become first choice of people to ease off and the same will be called as ‘Peeshab Wali Galiyaan', as the case of a lane in walled Jammu city in the past, which was used by the people to ease off and was popularly known as Peeshab Wali Gali.
For God's sake the administration should act fast in the matter to ensure that the streets in this part of Gandhi Nagar do not get the same treatment and named the way the aforesaid old city lane was named by the residents for its infamous use by people.
