Toilets across Mumbai to have free urinals for women; shot in arm for Right to Pee campaign
Loo & behold! Soon, free urinals for women and eunuchs in Mumbai's public toilets
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‘Right to Pee’ campaigners in the city will have something to cheer about with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) deciding to make provisions for free urinals for women as well as eunuchs in newly constructed pay and use toilets. After dragging its feet on the issue, the civic body has recently issued directives to all 24 ward officers to make sure all new ‘pay and use’ toilets display boards that women and eunuchs will not be charged to use the urinals.
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A letter to this end was issued (a copy of which is with mid-day) last month by chief engineer Siraj Ansari of the solid waste management (SWM) department states. The move came after Right to Pee activists and Shiv Sena MLC Neelam Gorhe met BMC ÂÂÂu00c2u0080ÂÂÂu00c2u0088commissioner Ajoy Mehta.
A group of activists and NGOs working under the ‘Right to Pee campaign’ are fighting for free, clean and safe public toilets for women in Mumbai. According to data available with the BMC, out of 11,000 pay-and-use toilets available in the city, only 40% are for women.
Activist Mumtaz Shaikh from Right to Pee said, “The BMC has finally issued directives about free urinals for women. Now, the challenge is to implement this on the ground level.”
Currently, there is no public toilet which has a separate urinal section for women. While men are allowed to pee free of cost, women are charged R2 for urinals at public toilets.
A senior civic official from the SWM department said, “We have taken up construction of new pay-and-use toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission.”
Chief Engineer, SWM department, Siraj Ansari was not available for comment.
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