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Mumbai Metro's 'touchless spit bin' sparks discussion: 'India has modern problems'
The ‘spit box’ appears to have been introduced to address the issue of spitting in public spaces, particularly in busy areas such as metro stations.
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A dedicated “spit box” installed at a Mumbai Metro station has sparked a discussion on social media, with users divided over whether the facility is a practical solution to public spitting or could encourage the habit.
A picture of the dedicated facility went viral after X user Zoru Bhathena shared it with the caption, “My Mumbai Metro, Now with dedicated Spitting Zones.” The image showed a touchless bin installed at a station operated by Maha Mumbai Metro.
The ‘spit box’ appears to have been introduced to address the issue of spitting in public spaces, particularly in busy areas such as metro stations. A sign above the bin carries the logos of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and Maha Mumbai Metro and urges commuters to “Be Responsible”.
The sign describes the facility as the “World’s First Defined Place To Spit”. Instructions on how to use the facility are displayed in both Marathi and English. The unit itself is labelled a “Touchless Spit Bin”.
Take a look below:
(Also Read: 'Cleaner than New York metro': American woman praises Mumbai Metro experience)
Social media reactions
The image quickly prompted a discussion on X, with some users questioning the need for such a facility while others welcomed it as a practical, short-term measure.
One user wrote, “India has modern problems hence the first defined place to spit."
“This is so wrong. There should be no spitting in the first place. I have visited about 112 countries from super rich to pathetically poor one, but I never found a single person anywhere in the world spitting in public,” commented another.
“Such innovation should have happened long before,” wrote a third user.
“I think that's a better short term solution as it's a behavioural issue. But we need to work on long term eradication of this shit,” said another.
“Creating stupid solutions for problems that should not have existed in the first place by banning those products,” commented one user.
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)
