No soch for shauch: 383 public toilets in dangerous state

As many as 383 of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)-run public toilets across 20 wards of the city were found to be in 'hazardous' condition. Civic chief Ajoy Mehta had ordered an investigation after two people were killed as the floor of a public toilet caved into the septic tank at a chawl in Bhandup on April 28.

After this incident, a structural audit of all public toilets across 24 wards was conducted and the civic body has so far audited those in 20 wards. Of the 934 public toilets checked, 383 have been classified as hazardous.

Conceding that the number of hazardous toilets was high, an official from the Swaccha Bharat Abhiyan team said they would act as soon as the audit was complete. "We will submit the report to the concerned authorities and take appropriate measures on priority basis," the official said.

The wards where the audit is yet to be conducted are B,C,E and G-south. The ward with the most number of dangerous toilets is M-west, with as many as 158 of them falling apart.

Vishakha Raut, Shiv Sena group leader who had raised a point of order in corporation meeting by demanding an audit of toilets across the city, said the number has raised basic questions of cleanliness and sanitation in the city.

“The Bhandup toilet mishap had brought to the fore the issue of old toilets, whose construction quality is substandard, and the results have proved this. The repairs of about 22,000 toilets are pending and many of them are in very poor condition. After this audit, the maintenance and repairs of these toilets should also be carried out properly under the policy,” she said

Of the 934 public toilets checked, 383 have been classified as hazardous. The wards where the audit is yet to be conducted are B,C,E and G-south. The ward with the most number of dangerous toilets is M-west in Chembur, with as many as 158 of them falling apart.