No windows in Kopar Khairane police station loo leave cops embarrassed

The filthy toilet at Rabale MIDC police station

Navi Mumbai may be a planned city, but the authorities have not planned the maintenance of its police station's toilets. So everything that ails most police stations' toilets in Mumbai, is replicated here.

Toilets that are filthy, without lights, broken doors, stinky and missing an important constituent, soap, are seen here too. In what is an embarrassment, literally, to the cops at Kopar Khairane police station, is that their toilets have slots for windows, which have not been installed. Most policemen and women confessed to avoiding the toilets as far as possible. All said there were no cleaners for the toilets.

One of the toilets at Kopar Khairane police station which has a slot without a window installed in it. Pics/Rajesh Gupta

Police, public alag, alag
Located right besides the Thane-Belapur Road, the Rabale MIDC police station looks after the MIDC and Airoli areas. The newly-built police station is spread across two and has toilets under a staircase. But when this reporter accessed one, it was so unclean, that the white tiles are turning yellow. Also, the stench from it was the guide to its location. When asked about the maintenance of the toilet, a constable had a different tale to tell. "Toilets which cops use are in good condition, but toilets for visitors are dirty," he said. He also said there was no cleaner for the toilet.

A washbasin at Kopar Khairane police station

No lights in toilets
With a population of over 5 lakh in its jurisdiction, Rabale is one of the busy police stations in the entire commissionerate, said an officer at the station house. But toilets here were filthy and did not have lights. "After dark, if we have to use the toilet, we have to use the torch from in our cell phones. Due to ill maintained sewage lines, the issue of mosquitos has also increased manifold," said another cop.

Toilets in the officer's cabin are well-maintained, but toilets which are open to the other personnel are not. "There isn't a clean toilet for complainants here. Sometimes we warn them about the state of the toilet," said a woman police officer. "Many times we avoid using toilets in the police station, but in an emergency we have to. Why can't the police station maintain its toilets?" she added.

The toilet at Turbhe MIDC police station does not have lights

Windows exp(ose)!
The police station located in the busy neighbourhood in Kopar Khairane is hard to locate. It is housed on the first floor of a building and is in such a sorry state, that one can imagine the condition of its restrooms. Here there are separate toilets for men and women, but the condition of the toilets is worse than any public toilet in Navi Mumbai. The pipe of the washbasin was broken, the urinals were unclean and stinking. The door of one of the two squat toilets was broken.

Windows are missing in both toilets and the huge openings for them leave cops embarrassed. While this reporter was inspecting the toilet, a constable entered. Asked about the state of the toilet, he replied, "Unless it's an emergency, nobody likes to enter this shithole. There is a residential building in front of the toilet and these toilets have slots where the windows are missing. Forget women, even I am ashamed to see someone at the window or balcony of that building when I am using the toilet". Most of the policemen confessed to not using the toilets very often. "We go to the public toilet near the police station. One might contract a disease if one uses the filthy toilets at our police station," said another constable.

No lights, filth and stench
The Turbhe MIDC police station has one toilet. There are not lights here and policemen and women use it in the light of the torch from their cell phones. Vashi police station is considered one of the busiest police stations in Navi Mumbai. It has separate toilets for men and woman, and they were fairly clean. However, there was mud on the floor and reddish patches due to gutkha stains.

However, at the Sanpada police station, the toilets were filthy and stank. Many cops revealed that they use the toilets at a petrol pump opposite the police station, which are 'usable'.

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