Norwegian ex-addicts build Mumbai toilet

Entire complex built by a 15-member group called ‘Back In The Ring’

Anew ladies toilet complex, built by a group of Norwegian former drug addicts and ex-convicts, including at least five women, became operational near Mumbai Central station here yesterday, officials said.

The toilet was formally inaugurated on Friday by Yuva Sena leader Aditya Uddhav Thackeray in the presence of Mumbai Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar, Norwegian Consul General in Mumbai Ann Ollestad, Tarini Jindal-Handa of JSW which co-sponsored the project and other prominent personalities.

The all-women’s facility comprises seven toilet blocks, a child-feeding enclosure, a changing room and a sanitary napkin dispenser, all constructed at a cost of around Rs2,000,000 (Dh114,515).

Completed in months

The entire complex built by a 15-member group, called ‘Back In The Ring’ (BITR) led by Alexander Medin, a Norwegian Yoga instructor, started work on it in February 2017 and it was completed within a few months.

The Norwegian nationals, most of them former addicts and ex-convicts who later became ardent followers of Yoga, took up the challenge as part of their ‘Karmayoga’ in view of the sorry state of civic amenities for Mumbai women, especially those who commute long distances and hours from home to work daily.

Armed with funds from a Norwegian NGO, BITR and the Mumbai-based steel giant, JSW Group, the BITR completed the project and handed it over to the local authorities for running and maintenance.

Ollestad said while India’s future is all about ‘empowering women’, during her travel around this country, she noticed the need for sanitation and toilet facilities for women.