A new toilet, with most of its seats for women, was inaugurated at Gateway of India on Thursday morning. The 10-seater toilet is expected to cater to hundreds of visitors to the tourist spot every day. It also has five urinals for men.
The Gateway of India premises, a heritage site, has one public toilet with two seats for women. When the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation took a poll on this toilet’s maintenance in April last year, the toilet was voted one of the dirtiest in the city, with around six lakh respondents calling it unclean. It was then decided to sack the agency maintaining it and thereafter, a BMC contractor has been maintaining it.
Meanwhile, a private hotel had also constructed a toilet in the Gateway vicinity in the past. It resembled the Gateway of India itself, due to which the heritage committee objected to it. Right to Pee activists highlighted the need for a public toilet, especially for women, in the area, following which the BMC tied up with Samatech Foundation and refurbished the same structure. Use of the toilet is free. “As part of our survey, we found out that there was a need for a toilet at this spot. That is why we appealed to the BMC. The idea is to claim our public places,” said Supriya Jan, a Right to Pee campaigner.
The Foundation, along with Round Table India and Ladies Circle India, has constructed this new toilet, mostly for women. It has Indian as well as western cubicles, a diaper-changing station and a sanitary napkin vending machine. There is one toilet for the disabled as well. Conservation architect Vikas Dilawari was the consultant for the project.
“After Marine Drive, we have given a new toilet facility to people here at Gateway of India, making it our fifth such initiative,” said Keith Mascarenhas of Samatech Foundation.
The toilet was handed over by the Foundation to the BMC on Thursday, following which the BMC will be maintaining it. Since the maintenance will cost about ₹75,000 every month, it has appointed a housekeeping agency for it. “After the other toilet was voted one of the worst, this toilet was the need of the hour. We have invited bids for its maintenance and will be signing an annual maintenance contract with the finalised agency,” said Kiran Dighavkar, Assistant Municipal Commissioner, A ward.
Work on the toilet started in July. The material is locally sourced and easy to clean, and the beige ‘stonecrete’ was chosen based on the heritage committee’s suggestion.
Of the 11,000 toilet seats in Mumbai, only 3,914 are for women.
