BMC To Transform Scrapped Buses Into "Toilet On Wheels" For Women

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans on transforming scrapped buses into “Toilet on Wheels” for women. The civic body will set up one toilet in Byculla, South Mumbai later this month.

The scrapped buses are being acquired by the BMC under Corporate Social Responsibility and will be painted pink. The buses that have been refurbished will be turned into motorable toilets. The toilets will be known as “Mahilasathi Swacchatagruha” or Pink Utility centres.

The buses will be acquired from Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport and private companies.

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BMC To Transform Buses Into Toilets

Sangeeta Hasnale, the Deputy Municipal Commissioner, Zone-1 in the BMC said that the first utility centre would be set up in Byculla station in South Mumbai. The centre will be set up on a pilot basis, and after seeing the response the number of similar utility centres will be determined.

Hasnale said that the primary objective of the project was to provide hygienic toilets for women. “In Mumbai, there is also a shortage of space, therefore we will be using old scrapped buses for this project,” said Hasnale.

The BMC guidelines forbid the construction of toilets on footpaths, thus old buses will be converted into moving toilets. The civic authorities said they plan on constructing 30 public toilets under the Swacch Bharat Mission.

The public toilets will be placed in the city in prominent places such as Churchgate station, Girgaon Chowpatty, Haji Ali junction, and other places.

The BMC is also planning on constructing around 22,500 public toilet seats.

The utility centre will be like a public toilet but will contain additional features such as changing rooms, washing machines, vending machines for female hygiene products, a specialised compartment for breastfeeding, and WiFi.

Each compartment will also have a panic button in case of emergencies.

Earlier, the BMC had set up a mobile vacuum toilet which was atop a cargo vehicle. There was one unit each for men and women.

The civic authorities claimed that vacuum toilets save 90 percent of water as compared to traditional toilets.