Mumbai: Public toilets in high footfall areas to remain open 24x7

The shuttered toilets seen by Karan Mehta from Bandra to Kandivili

In a refreshing change for the Mumbai's public toilets, the (time) limit does not exist, thanks to the BMC. Acting on complaints from citizens, the civic body on Thursday issued a circular to all ward officers, instructing them to tell the operators of public toilets in high footfall areas to keep the loos open 24x7.

The city's public and community toilets are shut by various operators by 11 pm, going against the directives of the Swachh Bharat Mission that clearly mention always keeping them open. Currently, the civic body keeps the toilets open from 5 am to 11. This had attracted lot of flak.

Loo and behold
Telling mid-day about the inconvenience caused by the limited timings, Radio City RJ Karan Mehta, said, "When I was out with my friends last week, a female friend wanted to use a toilet. We were travelling from Bandra to Kandivali and could not find any toilets open. BMC doesn't even understand the difference between am and pm, as many toilets had odd timings written on them."

Mehta's experience led to Radio City taking the issue up in their morning show, where RJs Salil Acharya and Archana Pania criticised BMC. Many listeners also called in to share their woes about not finding a toilet in the city late at night. The BMC certainly seems to have woken up to their demands.

BMC responds
Kiran Dighavkar, assistant municipal commissioner of the solid waste management department said, "After many complaints, on Thursday, we have issued a circular to all 24 ward offices to give appropriate instructions to the toilet operators in high footfall areas such as stations to operate toilets 24X7."

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