Passengers at Thane and Kalyan stations in Maharashtra will soon get cleaner toilets as the Central Railway on Wednesday said that it has partnered with DMart Foundation to upgrade and maintain sanitation facilities.
The decision was taken with an aim to improve hygiene at the two important Maharashtra railway stations.
The initiative is part of DMart Foundation’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts.
According to an official statement, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will soon be signed between Mumbai Division of Central Railway and DMart Foundation.
The agreement will cover the construction, renovation, operation, and maintenance of toilet blocks at both busy stations for the next five years, it said.
The statement further said that the following has been planned under the initiative-
– A new toilet block will be built on Platform 6/7 at Kalyan station (Karjat end).
– Another new block will come up on Platform 10A at Thane station.
– DMart Foundation will repair, operate, and maintain all existing toilet blocks at both stations.
– No charges will be collected from passengers for using any urinals or lavatories.
“The partnership follows earlier successful efforts by Central Railway and DMart Foundation to maintain toilets at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Byculla, and Ghatkopar stations. Passengers had responded positively to those improvements,” the official statement said.
It said that at present, Thane station has 61 urinals, 28 lavatories, and 16 wash basins and Kalyan station has 54 urinals, 20 lavatories, and 18 wash basins. All these will now be maintained by the DMart Foundation.
“With Thane seeing a daily footfall of 5.10 lakh and Kalyan handling 3.93 lakh passengers, the initiative is expected to provide clean, free, and high-quality toilets to lakhs of commuters every day,” an official said.
