With an aim to curb issues of defecation and promote hygiene, the Mumbai Police Commissioner and Public Concern For Governance Trust (PCGT) recently carried out a joint initiative. A city-based NGO surveyed all the 93 police stations and a shocking result has emerged. It stated that the washrooms in almost 97 per cent of the police stations were of substandard condition.

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Several actors including Vidya Balan and Amitabh Bachchan recently associated with 'Jahan Soch Wahan Shauchalaya'. The Mumbai Police too have now taken an initiative to keep a check on toilets of all police stations.

According to Julio Ribeiro, former Mumbai Police Commissioner and founder of PCGT three police stations do not have washrooms at all. "Our team went to all the police stations and clicked photos of the same. In our findings, it was clear that the maintenance of the washrooms was close to nil. Our team also interviewed women police constables and officers. The women spoke about their ordeal of sanitation issues and the filth."

"During menstruation, it becomes difficult for us to use the washrooms. We do not have a place to dispose the sanitary napkins. I dumped the waste in the dustbin and it wasn't cleaned for two days," said a woman constable.

"We have submitted a report to the Mumbai Police to maintain the quality of the washrooms," Ribeiro added. A senior police officer said, "Currently, police stations have very few class VI (sweepers category) and little budget to hire." However, Anup Kumar Singh, Joint Commissioner of Police (Administration) said, "The matter was brought to our notice. We have recently hired 48 people in the class VI category."