Mumbai: Toilets for women cops have no water, poor light

Speaking of equality the condition of toilets meant for female police in the East region is as bad as those for male cops The toilets are equally not maintained filthy and smell The women in uniform have no option but to use them and hope nothing happens to them especially when they have their period or are pregnant Many suffer from Urinary Tract Infections UTI which they claim is due to the use of the unclean toiletsNo water no proper lightThe toilet at the Navghar police station in Mulund is absolutely compact and it is a skill to use it properly In addition it is filthy and stinks because of which it is also a health hazard to pregnant cops who use itThe filthy urinals in the mens toilet at Navghar police station PicRajesh GuptaThe toilet also doesnt have a separate light inside but is lit by a bulb placed over the nonfunctioning washbasin near it Whenever the bulb stops functioning the women have to use the toilet in the mobile phones torch But first they need to fetch water in a bucket from the nearby gents toilets as they claim the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC has infrequent water supply to the ladies toiletWe have been fetching water from the gents toilet and sometimes it is embarrassing said a lady police constable She further added that they have been using drinking water to wash their hands We have been bringing our own soaps or hand sanitisers because nothing is provided here she added The other toilet at the police station has been shut due to the lack of water The mens toilet at the police station is no better It has not been cleaned for weeks Something is better than nothing said a policeman philosophically when asked how they use the dirty toilets at workThe floor at the toilet at Mulund police station is always wet due to a constantly leaking tapWaste of waterAt Mulund police station due to a 24hour water connection in the toilet on the ground floor the floor is wet due to continuous leakage from the tap But nothing is done about this wastage eitherOn opening the door to the Pant Nagar toilet this reporter did not dare to enter because not only were the tiles filthy she nearly passed out because of the smell The toilet bowls were also smeared with poop A lady police constable said We had been using this toilet until recently but stopped because thankfully we now have a good toilet in our changing room But this toilet is used by female visitors to the police stationBigger toilet more filthUnlike the toilet at Navghar police station the ladies toilet at Pant Nagar is big and has a water connection But the good points stop here The spacious toilet has accumulated sizeable filth on the floor which obviously emanates an equal stench The drainage pipes are clogged turning the floor into a putrid pool through which women have to walk to reach the toilet There is also no soap in the toiletThe nonfunctioning washbasin in the toilet at Navghar police station PicRajesh GuptaNo toilets for copsBut for male police the situation is even worse at Pant Nagar There is no toilet for them In the city of the metro monorail coastal road and the state with samruddhi marg plans a police officer has to go behind a police station and pee in the open A police officer said There is one gents toilet but it is always locked due to lack of water so we use the open area as a toiletPolice personnel and womenWomen police personnel suffer the most during their menstrual cycle A 36yearold woman police constable said We have to adjust regarding toilets everywhere during duty hours We are left with no option but to use it even though it is filthy The situation is the worst during our menstrual cycle as we cannot throw the used tampons or sanitary pads in dustbins because there are none Most of us suffer from UTI Another woman officer regretfully informed midday that they have to get their work place toilets cleaned by paying from their own pockets We collect money from women police and use it to pay a cleaner else we have to suffer during our periods she addedPopulation and area the stations serveNavghar police stationPopulation 3 lakh approxArea 17 sq kmMulund police stationPopulation 13 lakhArea 41 sq kmPant Nagar police stationPopulation 74 lakh approxArea 6 sq KmCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates