With 117 open air defecation spots still existing across Mumbai, the city needs as many as 1.15 lakh toilets to be free from open air defecation, making it an uphill task for Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to achieve its target.
Owing to shortage of toilets, thousands of people use these spots to defecate in the open, thereby posing a severe threat to public hygiene. The civic body has set itself an ambitious target of building 1.15 lakh toilets by December 2016. In fact, rendering the city free from open air defecation will be a major priority for BMC under the Centre’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. So far, only two wards – B (Pydhonie and Mohammed Ali Road) and C (Kalbadevi and Bhuleshwar) – have been declared as being free from open air defecation.
Also under the Abhiyan, a new sanitation survey will be undertaken in the city between January 5 and 20 to review sanitation and hygiene conditions. Conducted by the Quality Council of India, the survey will be based on data provided by municipal bodies, field inspectors and citizens through an IVRS questionnaire. Citizens can participate in the survey by giving a missed call on toll free number 18002672777, which will be open till January 15. The results of the survey will be announced on MyGov website on January 25.
Praveen Prakash, Mission Director of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, said that the Centre will be providing Rs 400 crore aid to the BMC for implementing the abhiyan. “Swachh Bharat Mission aims at ensuring door-to-door garbage collection and disposal of municipal solid waste in all 80,000 wards in urban areas by 2019. Municipal bodies are encouraged to convert waste into compost as well as generate electricity.”
