MULUND TOILETS RAISE A STINK!!!
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s much ambitious scheme, the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched in 2014, was started with the primary goal to solve the acute problem of toilets in India. Though the scheme won huge laurels but, alas, it got mired in corruption. As a result, whatever little toilets have been constructed are mostly of inferior quality. They face multiple crises in terms of maintenance as many toilets are dirty, unhygienic and regularly running out of water. The plight of public toilets on the road is even worse. They lack several facilities like shortage of water, lack of cleanliness, non-functional flushing systems, broken tiles, etc. They are so stinky that even people walking on the road keep at a distance to avoid the foul smell. In short, the huge money spent by the government on the construction of these toilets has literally been ‘flushed down the toilet’!
Home Times’ Reality Check
The plight of the public toilet outside Mulund Railway station is ‘pathetic’.
The plight of the public toilet near Mulund East railway station under the FoB is in a pitiable condition. Similarly, the public toilet at J.S. Dosa Road in Mulund West is in shambles. Both these toilets are usually utilized by the hawkers and railway commuters.
Irked by the lack of facilities, an angry Mulundkar said, “We pay Rs. 5 to use the toilet and Rs. 10 for bathing. However, despite paying the charges, the toilets are unclean and stinking. What is appalling is that some toilets are overflowing. The flushes are non-functional, hence the stink is unbearable.” He added, “Besides unkempt toilets the bath room is also untidy. To add insult to injury, the water used is borewell water, hence it does not cleanse our body properly.”
Every toilet synonymous with stink and filth :
The two things in common that Home Times witnessed in its reality check were: 1) Stink and, 2) Filth. Every toilet reeked of unbearable stench and was horrendously unclean. A look around every toilet depicted a picture of dirt and pollution. One could find butts of cigarettes and bidis. The beautiful tiles have been stained by paan and gutkha stains. Dirty water keeps flowing and there is litter scattered all round. In a nutshell, the sight was awful!
When Home Times asked a toilet staff member about the dirt and unhygienic toilet, he blasted, “If we try to prevent someone consuming gutka then they start abusing us. Sometimes few anti-social elements resort to goondaism and walk out without paying us money.” “Our staff members clean the toilets several times in the day, but some people feel proud in messing up public property,” he said with a disgusted look.
Anti-social elements create litter in toilets
Home Times in its reality check was left stunned to discover the deplorable plight of a toilet located between M.G. Road and Ganesh Gawde Road in Mulund West. The taps inside the toilet are damaged, hence water keep flowing. Daily, a huge quantity of precious water is being wasted. The walls are discoloured with stains of gutkha. When Home Times asked the supervisor about the ill-maintained toilet, defending himself, he said, “We clean the toilet 3 to 4 times in a day. But due to the leaky taps, a puddle-like situation is created. We make complaints but nobody pays attention.”
Devidayal Public Toilet lacks soap, the basic ingredient of hygiene
Washing hands after using the toilet is the primary lesson of hygiene but, alas, at the Devidayal Public Toilet, Home Times detected does not have a soap to clean hands. The people using the toilet are thus quite angry.
Most toilets are not cleaned regularly
Further, most of the toilets are not cleaned as per the prescribed norms of cleanliness. According to the rule book, every toilet must be cleaned a minimum 7 to 8 times in a day but, in contrast, very few toilets follow these rules.
Home Times observed the toilets at Ramgarh and Vijay Nagar in Mulund West are cleaned just once or twice. On quizzing, a Vijay Nagar toilet staff gave a diplomatic reply. He said, “This toilet is not visited by many people. Hence, it does not get much dirty. Thus, cleaning once or twice is sufficient.” In contrast, the Ramgarh staff said, “What is the use of repeated cleaning? The more we clean, the more the toilet gets used by people.”
S.L. Road Toilet –a looting den!
In our search for the cleanest toilets, Home Times discovered the toilet at S.L. Road to be good. But, the toilet is less frequented by people due to its criminal record. A staff at the toilet informed Home Times that the toilet has turned into a looters den. He said, “Some alcoholics from Vijay Nagar slums loot innocent people at night. These goons threaten people who come to the toilet at night by showing sharp razors and loot their valuables.”
Planning to abandon the job for fear of these alcoholics, he said, “I am planning to quit the job because if somebody makes a complaint against these anti-elements, they cruelly beat the staff. Earlier, a staff was beaten black and blue.” He added, “We have made several complaints to the police, but till now no action has been taken.”
