‘Foul smell, dirty toilet seats, no lighting’: BMC orders prompt maintenance of 58 public toilets
The officials said the going forward complaint redressal system will be installed in all the existing toilets in north Mumbai.
According to the civic body's data, there are 58 public toilets in north Mumbai. (Express Archive Photo) In line with the union ministry’s Swacch Bharat Mission, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has given private contractors a three month deadline to upgrade the facilities of as many as 58 public toilets in north Mumbai that are currently in a dilapidated state. The move comes after a joint meeting convened between civic officials and Ganesh Khankar – Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporator and leader of the house in BMC.
These toilets are spread across municipal wards covering the Dahisar, Borivali and Kandivali areas in the city’s western suburbs.
According to the civic body’s data, there are 58 public toilets in north Mumbai. These toilets are mainly used by citizens hailing from the lower income groups (LIG) since many of them don’t have toilets at their homes. At present all of these toilets are in a dilapidated state, with 36 of them requiring urgent improvement work, and 22 requiring maintenance work.
As a result, contractors responsible for maintaining these toilets have been told to implement immediate remedial works.
“Some of the remedial measures include repair and replacement of damaged fixtures, changing of damaged doors and windows, changing of tiles, painting of the toilet buildings and improving the overall upkeep works,” a civic official said.
According to BMC records, out of the total toilets that are in a dilapidated state, 19 are reeling under foul smell, 29 of them have not been cleaned for a long time, 15 of them have dirty floors and toilet seats and 2 of them have no lighting. Furthermore, the record also shows that of the 58 toilets, 51 doesn’t have any public grievance mechanism in place – a move mandated by the union ministry for all public sanitation spaces.
Furthermore, the officials said the going forward complaint redressal system will be installed in all the existing toilets in north Mumbai.
“After three months, this model will be similarly replicated in all the remaining wards in Mumbai,” an official said.
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