The Wangdyu family's two school children,who live in the old town area in Lhasa,were overjoyed when they found they would have a sweet-smelling washroom in their apartment after a housing renovation.

They had dreamed about having a washroom they saw in their little friends'homes in the new town areas.

This inside washroom,however,was the cause of a heated family debate.Wangdyu said the idea to have it met with strong opposition from his parents,who are according to Wangdyu,a bit "old-fashioned".

"They thought the indoor lavatory in the washroom would inevitably stink out the house even though it could be flushed,"said Wangdyu,manager of a furniture workshop in downtown Lhasa.

Ordinary Tibetans had not heard of "washrooms"before the 1950s.Even for the Tibetan nobility,the best they could have was a basic lavatory without a flushing device.

"The decision was not easy to make,"Wangdyu said,but he and his wife finally "voted"for it.

Now,30percent of Wangdyu's neighbors have decided to have an in-house toilet like Wangdyu's.Wangdyu said the washroom idea will sooner or later become popular among local Tibetans.

The family debate about the lavatory was brought about by the renovation of 56existing residential areas in the old town areas in Lhasa,capital city of Tibet Autonomous Region.The government plans to inject 70million yuan (US$8.43million)into the two-year project which began this year.

Though hesitant about having a private washroom like Wangdyu's,most residents involved in the renovation project would like to at least have new-style public flushing toilets rather than the stinking traditional ones without flushing devices,according to a survey carried out before the renovation began.

Qiangjiu,who moved into the newly-renovated Sangdong residential area recently,said she is happy with the new toilet.Besides a new-style hand basin,the new toilet is also equipped with a hand dryer."It looks the same from outside,but there is a world of difference inside.The new one is cleaner and more important,it never stinks."said Qiangjiu.

In the past she and her neighbors not only had to endure the stench of public toilets but also had to share the cost of 700yuan for removing the excrement at least once a year.Qiangjiu was much luckier than Zholgar,who used to live in an apartment just next to the public toilets in the old Sangdong area.Zholgar said urine from the public toilet used to seep into her house at the base of the wall and her family had to dig a channel in their room to drain it.

Traditional public toilets also seriously polluted groundwater and most of her neighbors suffered from diarrhea in wintertime,said Zholgar.

"We could no longer endure the dirtiness anymore,"said Zholgar,noting that their living environment was much improved since the renovation project.

Though acknowledging the advantages of the new-style toilet,some locals are used to the traditional toilets and want very much to keep them.

"We respect their habits and will keep some traditional toilets in the renovation,"said Yang Pei,an official in charge of urban planning in the downtown Chengguan District of Lhasa.

As for some people's fear of a shortage of water for flushing,Yang said the government has decided to invest 170million yuan to improve and increase the water and electricity supply in the old town areas."Any problems with flushing toilets can be reported to us,"assured the official.

( eastday.com July 25, 2002)