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After weeks of residents raising concerns about a proposed new toilet being developed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) along the Marine Drive park, the civic authority has given its approval to move the proposed block to a new location and stop all work in progress at the current location.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Shivadas Gaurav, Assistant Municipal Commissioner in charge of BMC’s Ward A said, “In view of concerns raised by residents, BMC has decided to move the proposed public toilet being built opposite the National Center for Performing Arts (NCPA) to a new location. In the meantime, work on removing new construction work has also begun.”
While the new location for the toilet block has not yet been confirmed, BMC has been deliberating with local residents to finalize a location that they would approve. “They have suggested a place near Rajni Patel Marg. We are looking into it,” Gaurav added.
With the public toilet originally slated for development along the Marine Drive promenade, opposite the NCPA, BMC commenced construction work. But residents and members of local residents’ associations expressed their concerns and wrote to the BMC and Prime Minister Eknath Shinde to express their displeasure. Local residents said that the toilet would spoil the aesthetic appearance of the heritage area.
After taking note of the complaints, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvikar and BMC officials held a meeting with the complainants on 9 June, and assured them that BMC would review the website. A place corresponding to the NCPA was feasible from a sanitation point of view. But, some citizens have raised objections,” Narvekar told the Indian Express.
On Wednesday, Sangeeta Hasnally, Deputy Municipal Commissioner (District-1) and Harshita Narwekar, former company of Ward A, held another meeting with local residents and confirmed that the toilet block will be shifted to another location.
Ashok Gupta of the Marine Drive Citizen Association (MDCA) said: “While the toilet was being built up to Tuesday, DMC and Harshita Narvekar assured us on Wednesday that the toilet would be built elsewhere. They have started demolishing the shed erected on the site and halted construction.”
“We are not against the toilet facility. Marine Drive attracts many tourists, so toilets are a must. We objected to the location. The exact location does not make any sense as there is already a toilet about 500-600 meters away, and it will obscure the view and hinder the attractiveness of the area,” Gupta added. heritage.
The existing toilet, developed by BMC and JSW under their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, is located between the traffic light near Air India and Hotel Marine Plaza.
BMC will commence work on the new toilet facility as directed by CM, who, after an inspection of the venue on 3 May, suggested that BMC build a public toilet there along with a viewing deck.
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