Bhubaneswar: The municipal corporation will undertake a survey to repair or construct public toilet facilities at various tourist and picnic destinations here.

The state tourism department has submitted a list of 19 tourist locations in and around the city, including Khandagiri and Udaygiri, Dhauli, Chausathi Jogini Temple, where the survey will be undertaken.

Once the survey ends, the civic body will begin construction of loos at identified destinations within six months. The priority will be on the repair of defunct toilets and construction of new ones where there are none.

Most of these tourist destinations have no toilet facilities, while the ones that have are lying defunct.

"It is a difficult situation in the absence of toilets at such important tourist destinations. The city is known for its tourism potential and it should be maintained accordingly," said Milan Hota, a tourist at Lingaraj Temple.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said they would form a team to inspect the availability of toilets near the tourist destinations. "It will submit its survey report within a fortnight, after which we will look after what kind of toilets can be installed at the sites and plan accordingly," Jena said.

Bhubaneswar apart, the tourism department has also asked other district administrations to look into the provision of toilets at tourist places on a priority basis. They have also been asked to survey the locations and set up the facilities as early as possible.

"We have received the list of tourist destinations of the state from the tourism department. It has listed 357 such centres across Odisha, identified till October. We have issued instructions to the authorities concerned to look into the matter and submit an action taken report by December 20," said a housing and urban development department official.