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Bombay High Court directs state to release Rs5 crore for building toilets in Pandharpur

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The Bombay High Court on Wednesday expressed shock and disbelief after learning that the state government was allowing the Pandharpur Municipal Council to clean excreta of Warkaris (pilgrims) by employing humans.

A division bench of Justices Abhay Oka and Amjad Sayyed said, "This shocks the consciousness of the court. It is a violation of fundamental rights of the humans who are employed for the work. Can you justify this practise?"

The court then ordered the state to release Rs5 crore by May 7 to the council for building toilets on a war-footing to cater to pilgrims likely to visit during the Wari starting on July 9. Thousands of Warkaris visit Pandharpur to pay obeisance at the Vitthal temple.

This proposal was forwarded by the council in 2009. The court also noted that poll codes should not stop the government from taking decision on the proposal. The court also directed the petitioners, Campaign against Manual Scavenging in Maharashtra, to include the temple trust and groups of Warkaris as parties in the public interest litigation because it felt that since the problem was created by human beings, their assistance would be required.

According to information obtained under RTI Act, Pandharpur has nearly 900 public toilets and the council provides 800 temporary toilets for pilgrims. However, various surveys have shown that the there is a shortage of 13,000 public toilets in the temple town to cater to the influx of Warkaris. As a result scores of people are forced to defecate in the open, prompting the council to engage human to clean the waste.

In 2009, the council had submitted a proposal to the state for releasing Rs21 crore to build toilets. However, the proposal remained pending. The court has now posted the hearing of the PIL on May 8, and directed the state to file a compliance report.

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