The Eastern and Western Express Highways will soon have e-toilets alongside all its bus stops.

In its letter issued on Wednesday (a copy of which is with HT), the solid waste management (SWM) department of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation(BMC) asked the public works department (PWD) department to allow construction of 5x9 feet one-seater e-toilets alongside the bus stops.

As both the highways had very few functional toilets, the SWM department said that this initiative will cater to hundreds of commuters and patients travelling on these highways.

A senior civic official said, “The idea is to stop commuters, motorists and drivers from urinating in open spaces as there are no functional toilets on the two arterial roads. We are still in talks with the PWD. Till now, they have neither accepted our proposal nor declined it .”

Mumtaaz Shaikh, Right to Pee activist, said, “The idea to provide toilet facilities at such spots is a welcome move. However, e-toilets cannot be trusted as the ones installed in Navi Mumbai are in a poor condition. Toilet blocks should be constructed at these spots instead of e-toilets.”

BMC has proposed to install e-toilets at all the bus stops between Sion to Mulund on the Eastern Express Highway (EEH) and Bandra to Dahisar on Western Express Highway (WEH). These toilets will be installed under the initiative called ‘Highway Suvidha’. HT had earlier reported that the BMC had constructed a multi-purpose toilet complex with an ATM, free WiFi, shower facility and many more on the EEH last year.

First Published: Feb 23, 2019 00:16 IST