1 public toilet for up to 30,000 persons in Bengaluru: Survey
There is only one public toilet for every 25,000 to 30,000 people in Bengaluru. And even among those available, more than one in four toilets are found to be malfunctioning, according to a citizen-led audit released July 22.
The findings are part of the Bengaluru Public Toilets Audit Report 2026 by the Bangalore Political Action Committee (B.PAC). The survey, conducted in April and May by B.CLIP civic leaders and B.PAC student volunteers, assessed 142 public toilets across Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) limits for cleanliness, functionality, safety, accessibility and overall user experience.
Increasing stench
Toilets audited in GBA – 142
37 toilets – 26% of the total number examined – were non-functional
Only 6 were listed as “very clean”
More than half had a persistent unpleasant odor
Water is only available in approximately 40% of functional toilets
Only 56% of toilets were adequately lit
Only 9 of the investigated toilets had ramps for people with disabilities
None had soap dispensers or trash cans
No mention of contract and user fee details in many places
Source: Bengaluru Public Toilet Audit Report 2026
One of the findings of the audit was that only 56% of toilets were adequately lit, raising safety concerns, particularly for women, according to the report.
The survey was conducted across residential neighborhoods, commercial areas, markets, parks, transport hubs and other high demand locations. East City Corporation was not included in this audit cycle.
Auditors conducted physical inspections of each facility using a checklist covering 28 parameters, including cleanliness and hygiene, water availability, functionality, lighting, ventilation, accessibility for persons with disabilities, security, gender segregation, maintenance, signage and overall user-friendliness. Observations were documented with photographs, while user interaction and maintenance records were examined wherever available.
The findings, B.PAC said, were supplemented with secondary data from government guidelines, including GBA and Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) data, existing datasets for public toilets and urban sanitation studies to benchmark soil conditions against prescribed norms.
Accessibility
Another big issue was availability. According to the report, only nine of the toilets surveyed had ramps for people with disabilities. None had soap dispensers or dustbins, and many places lacked details of suppliers and user fees, making it difficult for citizens to know who was responsible for maintenance.
According to the report, Bengaluru currently has around 900 public toilets, of which 479 are officially under the Greater Bengaluru Authority. B.PAC said the city’s public sanitation infrastructure has not kept pace with population growth, now estimated at more than 1.4 million.
Among its recommendations, the organization sought a 30-day fix to restore all broken toilets, the creation of a dedicated “public toilet management cell” within the GBA, and a shift from construction-focused contracts to long-term operation and maintenance contracts.
In addition to making toilets accessible for people with disabilities and increasing the number of female-friendly and gender-inclusive toilets, she also recommended ensuring regular water supply, sufficient lighting, soap dispensers and dustbins in each facility.
B.PAC has requested the Government of Karnataka and the GBA to build more than 1,000 more public toilets through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. It recommended giving priority to high-impact areas such as bus terminals, Namma metro stations, markets, parks, tourist destinations and construction sites.
Published – 22 Jul 2026 15:55 IST