Wheels of Change: Scrapped TMT Buses may soon turn into toilets for women in city

13th Dec, 2017

THANE: If all goes well then the Thane Municipal Transport body may soon convert buses that are meant to be scrapped into washrooms, exclusively for women. These washrooms will be parked at crowded spots in the city.

This concept was proposed by municipal commissioner Sanjeev Jaiswal at a meeting with civic officials. At the meet, it was discussed to make full use of these buses as they would go into scrap. So, it was decided to turn these buses into washroom for women.

While there are nearly 10,000 public toilet in the city, only a handful a accessible to women. Due to this they are often forced to use facilities at restaurants or malls.

As per plans, the nearly 50 mini and standard size buses in the TMT fleet will be modified into toilets and stationed at strategic locations across the cities.

"The buses can no longer ply on the road and are currently permanently parked at the two city bus depots. The idea is to free up the depots and also provide washroom facilities for women in public places," said a senior municipal officer.

The buses will be permanently parked at the designated spots in the city and will be cleaned on a daily basis.

The officials will come up with a plan, including modifying the existing buses into washrooms using the help of experts, following which the exact number of seats will be made available.

The proposal is likely to be implemented on a public-private partnership; wherein private players will be asked to maintain the facilities in lieu of advertising rights on these modules located at strategic locations across the city.

"A proposal detailing all aspects of this concept will be made and presented before the general body this month," said a civic official.

Meanwhile, activists have lauded the initiative and have suggested that the existing toilet blocks that are non-functional, especially those along highways, be operational soon.

The buses will be permanently parked at the designated spots in the city and will be cleaned on a daily basis. The officials will come up with a plan, including modifying the existing buses into washrooms using the help of experts, following which the exact number of toilets seats will be made available

 

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com