Summary Punjab has 1,420 public toilets, but only five serve transgender persons and 10 are accessible for people with disabilities, the Lahore High Court was informed during a hearing.
LAHORE (Muhammad Ashfaq) – The Lahore High Court (LHC) was informed on Wednesday that Punjab has a very limited number of public sanitation facilities for transgender persons and people with disabilities.
The disclosure was made in a report submitted by the Secretary of Local Government. According to the report, Punjab currently has a total of 1,420 public toilets, out of which 1,293 are functional while 127 are non-functional.
The report further stated that 672 public toilets are designated for men and 568 for women. However, facilities for marginalized groups remain extremely limited, with only five public toilets available for transgender persons and just 10 for persons with disabilities across the province.
The case was heard by Justice Raheel Kamran on a petition filed by the Judicial Activism Panel’s lawyer Azhar Siddique.
During the proceedings, the lawyer argued that the lack of adequate public toilets across Punjab is causing serious difficulties for citizens, particularly for vulnerable groups who require accessible and separate facilities.
He urged the court to seek a detailed response from the relevant authorities regarding the situation and the steps being taken to improve public sanitation infrastructure.
After reviewing the report, the court directed the petitioner’s counsel to present detailed arguments at the next hearing.
