Bhubaneswar, Feb. 5: The municipal corporation has decided to install 100 flexi-urinals for both men and women in the city. The blueprint of the project is in the process of completion.

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation had earlier decided to place the matter for approval before the councillors in its January 28 meeting, but no discussions were held. Instead, they decided to first finish the pending project of setting up public and community toilets at a cost of Rs 5 crore this financial year.

When asked, corporation engineer Dwaipayan Pattnaik told The Telegraph that the civic body would take up the project with financial assistance from various agencies.

"It needs approval from the corporation. It is expected that the matter will be placed before the councillors in the next meeting," said Pattnaik.

Corporation sources said that the walls of the urinals would be made of fibre, while the base would be concrete. When the administration needs to expand the road or initiate any civic work, the fibre wall could be detached and shifted and the base could be demolished.

"The city is undertaking numerous infrastructure development activities, which includes widening of roads. At this time, if we built concrete structures, it will invite huge financial losses to the administration. Hence, we have decided to make the urinals in such a manner that the fibre wall could be shifted easily from one place to another and the base demolished," said Pattnaik.

Though the urinals for the men will be an open one, those of the women will be closed. The urinals will come in varying sizes, with each having two to six compartments.

The ones with six compartments will be installed on the Janpath stretch between Vani Vihar and Sishu Bhavan Square. "Janpath is a busy stretch, therefore we plan to install a few of those here. The urinals will also be installed at busy junctions such as the Baramunda bus stand, railway station and PMG Square," said a senior corporation official.

"Adequate number of public toilet is a must for a city like Bhubaneswar. The city administration should take this initiative seriously. I hope that the plan of the BMC will bear fruit," said Biswa Pradhan, a resident of Saheed Nagar.