As a part of the Swacch Bharat Abhiyan, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shaina N.C. has decided to create awareness about clean public toilets and sanitation in Mumbai and Pune. She will be implementing the ‘Swachh Majha Maharashtra’ project with the help of firms under their corporate social responsibility (CSR) involvement.
The BJP leader on Monday called on BMC commissioner Ajoy Mehta and other civic officials in this regard. In the meeting, she sought a list of public toilets that can be kept clean and sanitised, from the civic body.
Speaking to The Asian Age, Shaina said, “Indians are ignorant about toilets, which are an integral part of our life. There is a need to create awareness about sanitation, which is important, especially for people who travel long distances for work.”
Shaina’s organisations, I Love Mumbai and Giants International, will be implementing this project in Mumbai and Pune, with the help of corporates, the BMC and railways. “The idea is to keep toilets clean and well maintained,” she said.
According to her, the project has already been started on a pilot basis in four city areas – Bhandup, Chembur, Govandi and Cotton Green. It will be implemented in a phase-wise manner in all the areas in Mumbai and Pune, said the BJP leader.
According to civic officials, Mumbai needs as many as 1.15 toilets to become free of open defecation. With 117 open air defecation spots still existing all over the city, the civic body faces a stiff challenge to achieve its target of making the city free from open defecation.
With the city short of toilets, thousands of people use these spots to defecate in the open, posing a severe threat to hygiene. The civic body has set out an ambitious target of building 1.15 lakh toilets by December 2016.
