No water to public toilets from March

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will not supply water to public toilets from March. The civic body has instructed the 601 public toilets across the city to find alternative sources of water.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will not supply water to public toilets from March. The civic body has instructed the 601 public toilets across the city to find alternative sources of water.

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Anil Diggikar, additional municipal commissioner said: “They (public toilets) have to find other sources of water such as borewells or ringwells.” The public toilets are owned and operated by private agencies, the largest among them being Sulabh International.

Following complaints from citizens about misuse of water at some public toilets, the civic body has disconnected water connections at 197 public toilets in the city. BMC has estimated that 50 lakh litres will be saved per day by this move. Locals from Andheri (E), Kurla (W) and Azad Maidan had complained that drinking water supplied to the public toilets in these areas was illegally being sold at high rates.

The move is aimed at conserving potable water in the city. Recently, BMC had announced that it would stop supply to municipal gardens across the city from March, saving 10 million litre of water daily.

The civic body has been under pressure to meet the water requirements of the growing population in the city. The city is already facing a 15 per cent water cut. A circular issued by the hydraulic department has also advised the digging of borewells and ringwells in the gardens so that water from them can be used for the gardens.

According to sources from the garden department, there are around 1000 municipal-run gardens in the city and discontinuing water supply to them will save about 10 million litres daily. The civic body has allocated Rs 3 crore for digging borewells in the island city, eastern suburbs and western suburb.