Mid-Day Test Drive: Few clean, many filthy civic-run toilets from Mulund to Sion in Eastern Express Highway

A well-maintained toilet near Ghatkopar pumping station, on January 5. Pics/Anurag Ahire

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has quite a long way to go before it accomplishes its mission of constructing toilets for citizens along the Eastern Express Highway. When mid-day recently conducted an audit of the public lavatories along the stretch, it came to light that two prefabricated toilets at the Airoli junction - in the northern direction and another towards Sion - had not been opened despite being set up more than a year ago.

A toilet at Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar, which residents say the BMC has neglected

The toilets lack sewage systems and water connections and civic officials claimed they are yet to receive nods for the same from the forest department as the lavatories have been set up on the latter's land.

Rs 85 lakh
Amount spent on four toilets at Airoli junction, Bhandup and Kanjurmarg

Three
No. of toilets found to be clean near the Railway Police Colony in Ghatkopar East

One of the closed toilets at Airoli junction. Pics/Anurag Ahire

‘Land belongs to forest department'

Sameer Wagala, who visits the spot regularly to catch a bus, said people had to go to the rear of the closed toilet on the Thane-bound road to relieve themselves.
A taxi driver, Gagan Yadav, said, "The BMC installed these toilets a year ago but for some reason, they are not open yet. This is a busy junction. Intercity private buses as well as cabs and autos halt here. There is also a BEST bus stop nearby. People are forced to urinate openly."

The filthy public washroom near the Kanjurmarg dumping ground

Jaisingh Thakur, another cab driver, told mid-day that the closed toilets were a huge hindrance for women commuters as they didn't have the option of urinating publicly.

Rohini Kadam, a member of the Right to Pee campaign which advocate safe and hygienic toilets for women, said, "Women are disproportionately affected by the lack of public toilets. All authorities need to consider this situation."

The spotless toilet near the Bhandup pumping station

Bhaskar Kshirsagar, assistant municipal commissioner of the S ward, said, "The land belongs to the forest department. We are in continuous talks with them about allowing us to open the toilets. The lavatory at the Bhandup pumping station, however, is open."

Dombivli resident Deepak Bhandar, who uses the toilet at Bhandup regularly while travelling, said, "It is very clean."

According to a caretaker, staff clean the toilet three to four times a day. "There is a 24-hour water supply and all toilets for men, women and the differently abled are operational," he added.

There was another toilet on the highway, near the Kanjurmarg dumping ground, but it wore an empty look and was less clean compared to the Bhandup one. The BMC spent around Rs 85 lakh on the four aforementioned toilets.

Sanitation lapse

The toilet at Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar, Mulund, which residents say the BMC has neglected

A urinal at Mhada Colony junction, Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar, Mulund, which is allegedly being overlooked by civic staffers is making life unbearable for locals.

Padma Kamble, a resident, said, "This toilet is not cleaned regularly by BMC staff. Due to this, there is a terrible stench. The toilet next to it is as filthy, making it difficult for us to live here."

Others specimens

The toilet near the Chheda Nagar junction

Three toilets at Ghatkopar East near the Railway Police Colony on the northbound lane towards Thane and another near the Ghatkopar pumping station towards Sion were clean. A lavatory at the Vikhroli Station Road junction was clean. Vikram Vishwakarma, a local, expressed satisfaction with the hygiene of the facility, appreciating the fact that citizens weren't charged to use it.

A civic official said that BMC-appointed labourers built these toilets. Each has 10 seats, five each for men and women as well as five urinal cubes and a toilet for handicapped. Meanwhile, a toilet near Chheda Nagar junction appeared to be severely dilapidated.

Abject lack of toilets

Garbage outside the facility

When this reporter travelled from Ghatkopar to Sion, no public toilet could be seen. When heading towards Thane from Sion, there were three lavatories, including one at Sanjay Gandhi Nagar, which was clean. However, solid waste had piled up on the road outside it. One of the other toilets, opposite Wadala junction, did not have a urinal. The last one, opposite Suman Nagar, was uncharacteristically hygienic. These toilets were pay-and-use facilities where one could urinate for free. BMC officials claimed these toilets did not belong to the civic body.

The relatively clean toilet at Sanjay Gandhi Nagar

There were no urinal facilities between Suman Nagar and Ghatkopar on the northbound stretch of the highway. While there were public toilets at Kurla signal and Kamaraj Nagar junction, the former didn't have a proper urinal facility and the latter was in a sorry state.

OfficialSpeak

Kiran Dighavkar, Deputy Municipal Commissioner
‘There is a lack of space to build proper toilets between Ghatkopar and Vikhroli and land along the highway belongs to several agencies. We will look into the issue of unclean toilets. Our officials are continuously trying to open toilets along the highway.'