Marine Drive gets city’ costliest public toilet: Features solar panel, vacuum technology & smart sewage disposal
The facility boasts of several state-of-the-art and environmentally friendly features (Picture: Nariman Point Churchgate Citizens Welfare Trust)
A swanky eco-friendly public toilet equipped with solar panel, vacuum technology to save water and intelligent sewage disposal has come up at Marine Drive in south Mumbai. It was inaugurated for the public on Monday.
Built at a whopping cost of Rs 94 lakh, the city’s most expensive toilet boasts of several state-of-the-art and environmentally friendly features. In contrast, BMC spends an average of Rs 25-30 lakh per facility.
The public facility, located opposite the Air India building, will be of great help to the general public, including joggers and cyclists, who throng the iconic 3.7-km-long promenade.
Shiv Sena’s youth wing leader Aditya Thackeray inaugurated the six-block toilet yesterday.
Shiv Sena’s youth wing leader Aditya Thackeray inaugurated the toilet on Monday
The entry for women is from the promenade side, while that for men is from the roadside. It also has ramps, making it disabled-friendly.
Leading alloy-maker JSW Steel, Samatech Foundation, the social development arm of Samatech company, and the Nariman Point Churchgate Citizens Association came together to set up the facility.
A toilet generally requires eight litres of water for a single flush, but the facility’s modern vacuum urinals will only use about 800 ml water.
Moreover, the waste will be carried from the sewage tanks to the civic body’s sewage treatment plants.
The facility features an intelligent sewage disposal system that prevents sewage from getting flushed directly into the Marine Drive bay
“Besides saving water, the toilet’s vacuum technology will prevent a few million litres of raw sewage from getting flushed directly into the Marine Drive bay each year,” Samatech Foundation’s co-founder Akshat Gupta said.
“Several other companies and consultants have contributed their expertise and materials free of cost for the project. The design of the toilet goes with the art deco heritage design,” Gupta added.
Further, the facility was built on an elevated surface to ensure it stays clear of flooding during monsoon or high tide. In addition, weathering steel has been used in construction to prevent rusting.
The design of the S-shaped toilet goes with the art deco heritage design of nearby buildings
The facility will utilise minimal electricity, thanks to the installation of solar panels.
“The installation of solar panels on the toilet roof will help save electricity. This toilet can prove a model toilet for other cities around India,” Tarini Jindal of JSW group said.
While the facility was built under CSR, the BMC will be responsible for maintaining the toilet. It will reportedly deploy eight employees and spend around Rs 1-1.5 lakh per month on its overall upkeep.
People will be able to use the facility for free in the first two months, after which we will take a call on levying a fee, said Kiran Dighavkar, Assistant Municipal Commissioner of A-ward.
Built in weathering steel,Vacuum technology,Intelligent Sewage disposal,Solar powered,Modern technology blended with ArtDecoHeritage design.
Its not a one crore toilet but the toilet for crores of Mumbaikars.
Proud to be associated with its creation.#Marinedrivetoilet #Mumbai pic.twitter.com/z44n0xkA6y— KIRAN DIGHAVKAR (@DighavkarKiran) October 1, 2018
