New Delhi, May 7 (IANS): Taking serious note of the pathetic condition of public toilets in the national capital, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the MCD to ensure that they are cleaned periodically.

A division bench of Justice B.D. Ahmed and Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva observed that despite the launch of the 'Swachh Bharat' campaign by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the municipal corporations were not following it.

It said the public toilets being operated and managed by the corporations were in a "pathetic condition".

It directed the authorities to "ensure adequate staff and equipment were provided to them so that the toilets are cleaned periodically".

The court also pulled up the corporations for not even giving gloves to their cleaning staff who clean the toilets.

The court's remarks came after it went through pictures and an affidavit filed by advocate Khagesh Jha who told the court that over 50,000 families in Delhi do not have access to proper public toilets.

The court was hearing a PIL filed by advocate Ashok Aggarwal alleging failure on the part of civic agencies to construct more number of toilets, especially for women in Delhi.