Twinkle Khanna recently went out for a morning run and was greeted with a fairly unpleasant sight. One that a lot of us living in India are unfortunately very used to. She saw a man defecating out in the open.
The actor-turned-author called it “the first scene of Toilet: Ek Prem Katha Part 2”.
As a user on Twitter rightly pointed out, what Twinkle failed to say in her tweet is this:
Open defecation is a serious issue which must be addressed by the relevant authorities, who must be held accountable for their inaction. With a mere 8,417 toilets available in the city, and most of them in horrible conditions, there is a serious gap in the demand and supply which must be, firstly, acknowledged. Our Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis, on 7 July, declared Mumbai an ‘Open Defacation Free’ city.
Not only is that claim laughable, the situation on the ground is the exact opposite.
What those who’re defecating out in the open instead need, are more easily accessible toilets. As well as, education drives urging them to make use of the toilets.
A citizen who has been conducting clean-up drives at Versova beach since 98 weeks, Afroz Shah has been doing exactly this. He has started getting the public toilets near the beach cleaned so that people living near in the area make use of them and in the process, ensure that the beach is kept clean.
So, perhaps Twinkle could make an effort to highlight any of the above, and refrain from shaming those whom she finds defecating on her morning walks.
Also Read: Toilet Truths: The Problem of Open Defecation In Mumbai & Thane
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