Accessing free Wi-Fi isn't a problem at Ranchi station. Attending to nature's call is.

The A-category railway station in the state capital brings to the fore a very different kind of a swachh story. Out of the five platforms, the station has toilets only on Platform 1. The problem is compounded by the erratic supply of water.

Despite undertaking a number of cleanliness and sanitation programmes, the Ranchi rail division of South-eastern Railways has done painfully little to cater to the basic need of the over 5,000 people that visit the place daily.

On Platform 1, there exists two pay-and-use lavatories. The one near the escalator comprises three toilets each for men and women and a separate unit for the physically challenged. There are also two bathrooms meant for men and women besides two male urinals. Another lavatory in the waiting room has three toilets each for both the sexes.

Senior citizen Rajiv Kishore, a diabetic patient waiting to receive his relatives from Dhanbad on Platform 3, had a harrowing time on Wednesday afternoon.

"I didn't know I had to struggle so much to hunt for a toilet. I was looking for a urinal at platforms 2 and 3 when someone told me that there are toilets only on platform 1. Both lifts and escalators weren't working and I had to climb the stairs to reach there," he said.

Most of the trains such as Dhanbad-Allepy Express and Shatabdi Express come on platforms 2 and 3, while local trains pull in and out of platforms 4 and 5.

"Why didn't the railways think about setting up toilets on the remaining platforms?" Rajiv wondered.

A group of youths were heard shouting from inside the toilet for water. " Paani nai aa raha hai, bahar aake drum se leke jao. (There's no water, come out and take it from the drum)," replied Naveen Pathak, the caretaker at the entrance of one of the toilet.

According to Pathak, water is supplied for a brief period in the morning before the taps run dry. "It's a regular affair here. I have placed a few big drums that are filled up with water. Why don't you ask the authorities?" he said.

Station manager H.K. Sharma said new toilets would be constructed but couldn't give a time frame. "I don't have much information about it. Officials at the headquarters can comment on it," he said.

Brushing aside complaints about water scarcity, Sharma said local fault in power lines sometimes affected the supply of water. "We will look into it," he added.