Mumbai, July 12, 2016: C N Patkar Trust, a private trust, has set up two she-toilets near Dombivali railway station on Tuesday for women.
She-toilets are e-toilets exclusively built for women. They are unmanned which means that there is no need for any safety worries. These toilets, which are self-operated with coins, are capable of self-cleaning, self-flushing with zero maintenance. She-toilets have additional facilities like a vending machine for sanitary napkins and an incinerator to dispose the used ones.
CN Patkar Trust, which works in the fields of health and education, had approached Kalyan and Dombivali Municipal Corporation (KDMC) for the construction of she-toilets in Dombivali.
“We approached the KDMC authorities for space. They asked us to install the toilets at Narayan Rao Patker Road. But they insisted to set up the toilets ten feet above the ground level. Since this was not practical and feasible, we installed the toilets in our own place,” said Rajabhau Patkar, Trustee at C N Patkar Trust.
He says that if the KDMC provides space, the trust will set up more she-toilets in other areas for the convenience of other women.
The women corporators who were present at the inauguration of the she-toilets have promised that they will try to install she-toilets in other parts of Mumbai.
Women often find it difficult to relieve themselves with no adequate facilities for answering nature’s call. The women toilets in many places like railway stations are in unhygienic and in dilapidated conditions without proper running water and other amenities. The BMC has failed to address one of the greatest issues faced by women in Mumbai. It was two months ago (in May) that the Bombay High Court reprimanded all municipal corporations and district councils across Maharashtra for not implementing the HC order to provide clean and safe public toilets for women.
“We are happy to associate with C N Patkar Trust for its initiative to provide clean and safe public sanitation facility in Dombivali. We are glad to note that women users of e-toilets in cities like Chennai, Bangalore and several other cities and towns are increasingly utilizing this facility without any fear or apprehension. The napkin destroyers and vending machines are meeting their sanitation requirement to that extra mile,” said Anvar Sadath, CEO of Kerala-based Eram Scientific Solutions, the vendor which installed the she-toilets in Dombivali.
Cities like Bangalore and Chennai have addressed the public sanitation needs by installing e-toilets across the cities. While Bangalore has installed 100 e-toilets across the city, Chennai has installed 200 units.