Google Maps lists over 57,000 public toilets in over 2,300 cities in India

Google Maps has listed over 57,000 public toilets in over 2,300 cities across the country, a company statement said on Wednesday.

The initiative was launched in 2016 as a pilot in three cities -- New Delhi, Bhopal and Indore -- in collaboration with the Swachh Bharat Mission and Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry.

In the statement, Anal Ghosh, Senior Program Manager, Google Maps said, "With Google Maps, our aim has always been to help people as they navigate and explore the world, wherever they are.

"We believe that making information about public sanitation facilities easily accessible to people is a key element for social good -- one that also constitutes the cornerstone of the government's Swachh Bharat campaign to promote clean habits and hygiene, Ghosh said.

According to the company, users can simply type 'public toilets near me' on Google Search, Google Assistant or Google Maps and get results.

In addition, the Google 'My Business' platform helped the HUA take ownership of these listings on Google Maps so that they could monitor visits, ratings, reviews among others.