Railway toilets to be upgraded under CSR initiative

The toilets of three suburban stations–Sion, Badlapur and Ambernath—will soon be refurbished as the CR has signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with DMart foundation. To be undertaken as a CSR initiative, the upgradation works will first commence from the Sion station. Also, these toilet blocks will be made free for passengers.

According to the MoU, DMart shall be responsible to renovate the existing toilet facilities at above proposed stations, while managing the day-to-day operations. It shall appoint one or more toilet attendants to ensure smooth functioning.

“The period of this MoU is two years. It can be extended further for a period of three years by mutual consent of both parties,” said the CR official. It was further added that the project will first be taken up on an experimental and implementation basis for a period of six months. Also, a periodical review of the works will be undertaken on a monthly basis. Depending on the feedback of users, the project will be further implemented at the Ambernath and Badlapur stations.

The project will soon take off at Sion, and is likely to be completed by end of the year, the official added.

Sion resident and frequent commuter Susmita Dave said, “It’s really a good initiative as most of the toilets are still bad and lots of work still needs to be done. Railways should involve more corporate houses and big financial institutions for similar projects.”

Another commuter Mangesh Savant said, “The railway toilets need to be maintained like shopping malls and other private institutions.”

Similarly, one Vinayak Shrivastava said, “Why only DMart, other corporate houses also need to come forward to upgrade basic facilities at railway stations.” Most of the big institutions and corporate houses have registered offices located in Mumbai, he reasoned.

Commuters’ take…

“It’s really a good initiative as most of the toilets are still bad and lots of work still needs to be done.”

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“The railway toilets need to be maintained like shopping malls and other private institutions.”

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“Other corporate houses also need to come forward to upgrade basic facilities at railway stations.”