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India has a long way to go when it comes to good sanitation services, public hygiene and health infrastructure. The government as well as the general public lacks both the resources and awareness to maintain clean public spaces. Public toilets are among the worst of these spaces, and are shockingly scarce. A 2015 study done on public toilets in Mumbai found that only 37% of the 10,000 pay and use toilets in Mumbai were for women. 10,000 toilets for the whole of Mumbai, meaning that for every 1800 Mumbaikars, there is only one toilet. This is a similar statistic in all Indian cities, including Pune, and it only gets worse in rural parts of the country. Over half of the public toilets that do exist are not open to women, meaning so many women have to go hours on end without having a safe place to pee, and consequently risk getting a number of illnesses as a result.
For the bathrooms that are available to women, most are often stinking, dirty and disease-ridden, or located inconveniently especially for pregnant or menstruating women. Perhaps it’s the assumption that women don’t go out – or pee – in public, or it’s just another form of invisibility and indifference towards an entire population in a deeply misogynist country. But given that toilets and basic sanitation are not just a constitutional right for everyone but also a daily necessity, it’s important to challenge these social sectors and create a better future.
Two entrepreneurs in the sanitation sector, Ulka Sadalkar and Rajeev Kher, recognised this, and thus began an incredible initiative in 2016 that converts old, scrapped buses into clean, safe toilets for women across Pune.
“We read about this concept of using old buses as restrooms for homeless people. We wanted to replicate the idea in Pune for women. The city is densely populated. There isn’t space to construct toilets. Buses wouldn’t need much space and could be refurbished. Also, clean public toilets are integral to the Swachh Bharat movement and for Pune’s Smart City initiative,” said Ulka to Civil Society Online.
She added that the sanitation centres will be set up in the busiest parts of Pune and while they could be mobile, they prefer to keep them in the same place so women can easily identify and remember where they are located. Calling the project “Ti,” which stands for “Toilet Integration” and is also a Marathi colloquialism for “she” or “her,” Ulka and Rajeev’s company is as innovative as it is eco-friendly.
The bathrooms are equipped with all the necessities – from Western and Indian-style toilets to wash basins, diaper stations and sanitary napkin dispensers. Moreover, these buses-turned-bathrooms are run on solar power. Since their launch in 2016, they have established 11 “health centres” (specifically called as such to avoid the negative connotations that come with “public toilet”).
Each toilet is frequented by between 150 to 400 women daily. “[We installed them] in the busy parts of Pune where the footfall is high, because there are no restrooms for women to use. We are targeting the lower income class because those are the women who need these toilets the most,” Ulka told The Better India.
Initially a free service, they have now started charging users a nominal fee of Rs. 5 in order to build a relatively sustainable financial model. The couple plans to expand the number of bathrooms as well as set up WiFi spots, juice stalls and recreational spaces. Their amazing, inspiring work has and will continue to create a safer and cleaner country.
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