Women and children can use toilets and washrooms of any hotel and restaurant located in East Delhi areas for free of cost from Tuesday.
East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) Commissioner Dr Mohanjeet Singh said that this step has been taken in line with the ‘Swachchh Bharat Mission’. “This decision is aimed at providing relief to women and children in EDMC jurisdiction,” he said.
A senior EDMC official said that the decision has been taken to pay heed towards the unavailability of enough toilets in the market areas of East Delhi. “It affects the people with the discomfort to answer the nature’s call. The order was taken after noticing inconvenience faced especially by women and children in the market areas. The decision has been taken after consulting representative of restaurants and hotels,” he added.
Residents of East Delhi welcomed the move and termed it a unique decision. Suman Arora, a resident of Yamuna Vihar C-block said “We even do not use public toilets because of unhygienic surroundings. Now with this decision, we can access cleaner washrooms and even for free. What could be better than thisIJ She asked.
“EDMC has taken a good initiative by announcing free access of washrooms in hotels and restaurants. I have been stuck a lot of times in situations wherein I wanted to use a washroom but there was none around. It is really difficult to explain how we feel in emergency,” said Manisha Kumari, a housewife who lives in Khajoori Khas.
Earlier on May 1, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) made it mandatory for all hotels and restaurants located under its jurisdiction to let the women and children use their toilets. The recommendation to explore the possibility was made to the SDMC by lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal. The move was said to be taken as part of its efforts to boost the Swachchh Bharat campaign in its area.