For the past many months, where the state government has been claiming that Maharashtra is open defecation-free more than 500 families residing in the Azad Nagar slums in Mahim are forced to defecate along the tracks every day. The Western Railway and Protection Force organised a drive along the tracks where around 300 residents from Azad Nagar slums were urged to not litter the tracks. The Western Railway officials said that the track maintenance workers are forced to walk through excreta on this stretch between Mahim and Matunga, and constant exposure to such waste and water results in track corrosion.

The residents who attended the drive stated, “Every election, the candidates come to us for votes and promise to set up mobile toilets. Once the elections are over, nobody bothers. We have been living here for decades and there’s now a mutual understanding – women sit facing the
north while men face the south while answering nature’s call.”