Mumbai’s pay-and-use toilets will be free for users until the lockdown

Public toilets in Mumbai will be free for users until the lockdown. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said that this has been done for migrant workers

Public toilets in Mumbai will be free for users until the lockdown. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said that this has been done for migrant workers who have been stranded in the city with no source of income. “We have instructed all public toilet facilities not to charge money from customers. This will continue until the situation comes under the control and stranded people in the city can go back,” said Suresh Kakani, additional commissioner (health), BMC.

HT Image

Mumbai has around 8,500 public toilets which are run by BMC or by charities. The centres charge between Rs 2-5 for one-time use. On an average, over a million people in the city use the toilets, but since the declaration of the lockdown, footfalls at pay-and-use toilets has decreased by over 80%, with commuters locked up at home.

Presently, the only users of the toilets are homeless migrant workers. A labourer from Malda, West Bengal, who is currently residing in the slums of Bandra (East) said, “Due to the lockdown, I have lost my job and I have only Rs100. As the public toilets charge for usage, I defecate openly on the railway tracks and take bath once a week for which I pay Rs5.”

Human right activists have applauded the decision. According to them, it is the responsibility of the government to make arrangements for the necessities of the stranded workers during the outgoing epidemic. “Thousands of workers have lost work due to the lockdown. It is a responsible act that the corporation has levied the usage charge of public toilets. This will also control the cases of open defecation,” said Robert D’sSouza, a human right activist from Bandra.