Humans generally need relationships for a better life; they depend on their family for personal support and help. They also need many material things to make their lives more comfortable such as regular supply of food; water and shelter. With all this there is one subject we all avoid talking about or discussing but which is an essential part of our lives which is a public toilet; at home we keep them clean a public toilet is virtually the last place any citizen would like to be. Someone once said that a nation can be gauged by its public toilets. Their importance can be evaluated by that whenever any market, bus stand or any public place is constructed; toilets are considered an essential part of the construction after all. Even in the construction of Eiffel Tower in Paris, when it was opened for tourists, toilets were constructed for the visitors. But here is our country, there is an acute shortage. However, I was fortunate to travel abroad with my family and was amazed at the spick and span toilets in every city, major shopping malls and bus stops. In Pakistan, unfortunately, no one seems to be paying attention towards the problem. And if there are toilets they are so much sordid that stepping into one of them means risking oneself to a whole plethora of diseases. We should develop the habit of building clean toilets which the people can use. Islam says cleanliness is half Godliness so if we are Muslims who practice Islam we ought to have clean toilets so that we can say our prayers and our children and older people can be comfortable out of the house as well.
HAFIZ MOHAMMAD WAQAS,
Lahore, February 8.