Mumbai station gets its first women-only toilet

The Mumbai Central Toilet Project, first women's only sanitation facility was inaugurated by Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's son Aditya Thackeray and Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar on Friday.

Samatech, a Smart Sanitation focused company, Norway-based Back In The Ring (BITR), and JSW Foundation have executed the project at Mumbai's suburban railway station, with support from the Mumbai Municipal Corporation.

The project has been designed by designer architect, Tanya Singh.

The sanitation facility at Mumbai Central suburban railway station addresses specific needs of feminine hygiene, offers child stations for mothers and changing rooms for women professionals.

Commenting on the Women's only sanitation facility, Akshat Gupta - Founder, Samatech Foundation said, "This project is at its heart about a Women's dignity. Mumbai's Women lack access to clean and safe sanitation facilities and face significant hardships for the same. Through our pilot project at Mumbai Central Station we have created a scalable template to overcome the sanitation insecurity women face everyday."

Biswadip Gupta, CEO - JSW Foundation said, "Women empowerment and health are critical pillars of our CSR. We recognize the issue of shortage of proper sanitation facilities for women as a major problem in the country. The Toilet Project is aimed at taking a step forward to solve this problem, one step at a time."

Mumbai Central railway station is an important suburban railway station in Mumbai. It serves as a connecting point for both local and intercity trains.

The train network transports over 7.5 million people daily. The location was identified and provided by the Municipality of Mumbai as a statement of their support and commitment for the cause.