While the central government is ploughing ahead with its Swachcha Bharat Abhiyan, the BMC is finally taking its first steps towards resolving the pressing problem of a dearth of public toilets for women in the city.
Currently, there are 1,035 public toilets with 13,441 seats in Mumbai, of which only 5,136 are for women. The corporation is going to form special guidelines to improve the situation.
Activists of the 'Right to Pee' campaign have been demanding better public bathroom facilities for women. The campaigners are representatives of 30 NGOs working together. They have said that if the civic body cannot provide free toilets for women, then it should also charge men to do away with the discrimination.
"We are giving special emphasis to the 'Right to Pee' movement. We are in the process of preparing special guidelines for this and have held seven meetings in this regard," said municipal commissioner Sitaram Kunte.
Civic officials said that one of the biggest obstacles they face while constructing toilets for women is a space crunch. "There is a demand for toilets from the floating population. For this, we need space near crowded places like railway stations, bus stops, markets etc. We have several government authorities to provide plots for this. Local activists and NGOs have also been asked to look for space," said the official.
Officials said BMC will soon make a presentation for the campaigners on its plan to implement the programme. However, campaigners said that holding parleys will not suffice and there is a need to take concrete steps to realise the programme.
"The 10-member committee comprising officials and our representatives have taken stock of the situation. Bringing BMC officials to the table for discussion is an achievement for us. But that is not the goal. To achieve our target, we need to change the mindsets of the stakeholders involved in the process. There has to be willingness which is lacking. The corporation must put the issue on its agenda and that too high on the list," Supriya Sonar, a member of CORO, one of the NGOs fighting for the cause.
Meanwhile, the campaigners have decided to widen their movement. As part of the drive, women can upload photographs of toilets across the county on Google Maps. "We want to create a mass data base where the public can put photographs of toilets in whatever condition they are. Accordingly, agencies concerned can be made to work," she concluded.
