LMC SETS UP FIRST TOILET FOR TRANSGENDERS IN LUCKNOW

THE CIVIC BODY TOOK THIS STEP ON THE OCCASION OF INT’L TOILET DAY ON NOVEMBER 19

LUCKNOW : Sending out a strong message against gender discrimination, the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) has built a separate toilet for the transgender community at the General Post office (GPO) in Hazratganj here .

The civic body took this step on the occasion of the International Toilet Day on November 19. This is the first of its kind initiative in Lucknow with a message of gender equality. The Sulabh toilet at GPO Lucknow had separate toilets marked male, female and differentlyabled but did not have a separate toilet for transgenders.

Niharika Jaiswal, secretary of the District Legal Services Authority, claimed that as per the National Legal Services Authority vs. Union of India writ petition, transgender people should gain from the implementation of their constitutionally granted rights. “As a result, in accordance with the instructions of the District Legal Services Authority, Justice Sanjay Shankar Pandey, district judge of Lucknow, worked with the city’s municipal commissioner to construct a separate restroom for transgender individuals to use,” she said. This is the first in Lucknow and second in UP. The first public toilet for the transgender community in th state was built by Varanasi Nagar Nigam, in Kamachcha area of the holy city in 2021. Welcoming the initiative, Ritwik Das, an LGBTQ activist who identifies as a trans-non-binary person said, “These small steps open the door to inclusion of queer people in society. There should be more such toilets in the city.”