The practice of relieving themselves anywhere along sidewalks around Shamorita Hospital in Panthapath -- just a case in point -- has made it impossible for pedestrians to walk down.

"There are no public toilets in this area. I have no choice but to use the footpath as urinal," carpenter Nakul Chandra said.

"It is all but impossible to walk the urine-swamped footpaths. The stench is unbearable leaving us to use the edge of the main roads to walk on," said Abdus Sattar, a resident. "This is a rather dangerous practice too."

"Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) took no preventive measures to fight the public nuisance," said Safat Jamil, a computer science and engineering student of Ahsan Ullah University of Science and Technology.

Farmgate, a populated area, has a public toilet, but people prefer to use the park as a place of convenience.

Ahmed Ali, a seasonal fruits vendor near the park, said: "I use any place convenient at the time. I have been selling fruits in this area for long and I am habituated to the practice."

From Gulistan's entrance to its exit, the unbearable smell of urine is in the air causing health hazards to thousands of small-time traders haunting the area every day.

Mahanagar Natya Mancha used for social, political and cultural functions seems fuming with the odour of urine. Areas surrounding high-profile buildings have not been spared either.

Another busy polluted area is Shahbagh, home to two hospitals, a museum, a library, a university, a children's park and many business establishments, but a public toilet is nowhere in sight.

"What choice do the people have? Sidewalks, open spaces or any convenient spot they could find are used as urinals. People will have to relieve themselves, after all," said a shopkeeper in Shahbagh. "What is the DCC doing about this menace?"

Footpaths to Aziz Supermarket, Elephant Road or even the long stretch from Mohammadpur to Mirpur, corners of bus-counters are contaminated with urine.

"We put up with the bad smell every day," said Mehedi Hasan Sarker, a computer operator of a private company in Mohammadpur.

The bus terminal in Sayedabad can be classified as a public latrine. The pungent smell of urine smacks the air around the bus stops in the Karwan Bazar area.

Other affected places are near the Science Laboratory bus-stop and Teacher-Student Centre (TSC). "We are sick of it," said Sanjida Noor, a City College student.

"The DCC cleans these urinals regularly. We are trying to protect sidewalks from this menace. We have taken steps to construct public toilets in busy places," Sohel Faruquee, DCC's chief conservancy officer, told Star City.

"We don't have enough manpower to ensure proper cleaning. We seek police coordination and people's awareness to make our attempts successful," he added.