Thane toilets, a prem katha

Swapnil Mahindrakar, civic activist (right) the unmaintained and dilapidated porta cabin at Kokanipada. Pics/Satej Shinde

The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has decided to appoint expert agencies to maintain public toilets in the city. The process of repairing old public toilets will begin soon. mid-day's October 16 report ‘CM's home city has some of the filthiest toilets' highlighted the pathetic condition of public toilets in Thane and covered the condition of the five worst public toilets there.

Speaking with mid-day TMC Commissioner Abhijit Bangar admitted that there are issues with the maintenance of the public toilets. The Thane Civic commissioner said, "Yes, there is a problem with the maintenance of public toilets. So we have decided to appoint expert agencies to maintain them. We will also tighten the terms and conditions for these agencies." He added that the civic body is in the process of appointing these agencies and it will be completed soon.

Citizens allege sewage from the Wagle Estate toilet flows onto the road. Pic/Satej Shinde

Banger further stated that the toilets in the city will also be revamped soon. "We have decided to repair and revamp public toilets. The state government is ready to pay funds to the corporation under various schemes for this," he said. "This will completely change the situation of public toilets in Thane." According to the civic data, at present, there are 906 public toilets and 12,500 toilet booths in the city. The TMC is going to spend Rs 75.50 crore on repairing them. Meanwhile, Swapnil Mahindrakar, MNS party worker and civic activist, said that public toilets have been repaired in the past too, but within two to three years the structure becomes dilapidated as there is no maintenance or proper cleaning.

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"Just carrying out repairs and appointing contractors will not do the job. It is necessary to maintain the quality of repairs. For that, regular monitoring by TMC officials is also required during the work. Also, surprise checks should be carried out to ensure maintenance contractors are doing their job, he said, adding that cross-checking by senior officials is important.

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No of public toilets in Thane city