Women polling staff raise hygiene concerns at school polling stations, ETEducation
Nagpur: As schools across the city prepare to double up as polling stations, women polling staff have flagged an often-overlooked operational issue — the condition and usability of washrooms on school premises during election duty.
Many polling personnel remain stationed at booths for long hours with limited scope to step out, making access to functional washrooms essential. Women officers said the concern becomes sharper during winter, when the need to use washrooms increases. While election preparations typically focus on logistics such as EVM movement, security arrangements and crowd management, women staff said basic sanitation at polling stations is emerging as a key issue ahead of voting day.
A woman teacher posted for election duty said, “In several schools, the toilet is not in the best condition. A nominal cleaning is done and the premises is handed over for poll duty. Many times the windows are broken and covered with newspaper taped to the frame. It looks very creepy.”
Another teacher said poor maintenance makes repeated use difficult during long shifts. “If the washroom is not clean, it becomes difficult to use it throughout the day. We are on duty for hours and cannot keep postponing basic needs,” she said.
Polling staff also pointed to problems such as broken latches, poor lighting, irregular cleaning and limited water supply. “Even where toilets are available, maintenance is uneven. I teach in a grant-in-aid school, and we receive limited funds for building upkeep. Toilets in such schools do not have the level of hygiene seen in private schools,” the teacher said.
Some women officers said they restrict water intake on polling day to avoid using washrooms, though they acknowledged it is not an ideal option during a long work shift.
Separately, menstrual hygiene has emerged as another practical concern at school polling stations. While no polling staff member spoke to TOI directly about arrangements for changing sanitary pads at polling locations, officers said the issue exists and becomes more sensitive when washrooms are poorly maintained.
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