The study was conducted by Observer Research Foundation (ORF), a city-based think-tank, on sanitation facilities at Mumbai's at 106 suburban railway stations.
Women commuters in the metropolis are more prone to get Urinary Tract Infections (UTI) due to unhygienic condition of toilets at Mumbai's suburban railway stations, the study by a city-based NGO said here.
The study was conducted by Observer Research Foundation (ORF), a city-based think-tank, on sanitation facilities at
Mumbai's at 106 suburban railway stations.
The report has quoted Dr Kamaxi Bhate, Associate Professor at the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, KEM Hospital, as saying the lack of access to clean toilets and urinals at Mumbai's railway stations is one of the main reasons for high levels of UTI among women commuters.
"This is the reason for UTI being more common among women than men, the differential ratio of incidence being 6:1. Repeated bouts of UTI make women vulnerable to anaemia and urinary stones," Bhate said.
ORF states that Mumbai's suburban rail network, which carries 6.3 million commuters every day, needs urgent attention to improve the appalling state of sanitation and cleanliness at stations demanding facilities comparable to those available at airports.
"Women commuters go to a great length to avoid using toilets that inflicts much suffering on them. For women this means not drinking water before travelling, which puts their health at risk," the study further says.
The study further reveals that about 20,000 commuters died on railway tracks in the last five years.
"A significant number of those killed or injured are slum dwellers that lack community toilets and hence use railway tracks to relieve themselves," it said.
ORF has made some recommendations including a dedicated
sanitation and passenger amenities fund to finance sanitation,
redesigning of railway stations to make space for new toilets
and urinals, expansion of use of PPP models and others.
"Despite the economic growth, quality of life in our country is missing. And it is not just the poor but also the middle and upper middle class who use the suburban railway everyday," ORF Chairman Sudheendra Kulkarni.
"Country's largest public utility has not paid much attention to sanitation. It is a national shame," Kulkarni said.
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