The Bangalore Goraguntepalya area is an important junction and close to a major travel hub, yet has no toilet facilities, making most people, especially women, unsafe. Now, help has come from an unexpected place: a policeman.
Vidhana Soudha police station sub-inspector Shantappa Jademmanavar has come up with a temporary, but important solution: a mobile toilet. The special thing is that it has rooms for three categories of people: male, female and transgender.
In fact, on Wednesday, a transgender of the area inaugurated the toilet.
Mr. Jademmanavar told Hindu That he installed the toilet with his own investment and the help of some like-minded volunteers. “It is a collective effort with like-minded people,” he said.
About the idea behind the mobile toilet, he said that he asked to use the toilet while traveling with his mother. He felt embarrassed and could not tell her that there were no toilets in the area. That’s when he decided to start the campaign.
Through the campaign, he appealed to the agencies concerned, but it was in vain. He then decided to take matters into his own hands with the help of a group of youths.
“The facility has been hired from a private company. The fare per day is around ₹ 15,000-20,000, but the rates have not been finalized,” said Mr. Jademmanavar.
He had been campaigning since February 2022 and was trying to grab the attention of the government through social media platforms, but there was no response. To commemorate the 100th day of his campaign, he decided to set up a portable toilet in the area.
A worker is appointed daily to maintain the facility and is paid around ₹500 per day by Mr. Jademmanavar. In addition, it has a pit that can collect waste up to a thousand people and keep it for three days. The BBMP vehicle clears the garbage once in three days.