The lack of basic amenities, such as toilets and washroom in public areas, creates a lot of inconvenience for public but hotels and restaurants of South Delhi have come forward to help women and kids in case they experience nature’s call.
From today, May 1, women and kids will be able to use restrooms of hotels and restaurants located in South Delhi for free. The announcement regarding this decision was made in Feb 2017 and it was supposed to be implemented from April 1; nevertheless, it got postponed due to the municipal elections. The idea was to allow everyone to use restrooms but the association of hotels and restaurants agreed only for women and kids. The President of Restaurants Association of India, Riyaaz Amlani, said,
“We stand for the dignity of women. The lack of sufficient number of public toilets in marketplaces has them tolerate pain. We will allow all women and children to use our facilities.”
Taking into consideration the fact that South Delhi’s hotels and restaurants have nearly 35,000 restrooms, it will be a big relief for women especially who had no other option than bearing pain.
However, the owners of hotels and restaurants can refuse as well if the matter is related to security, as Amlani said, “We will not allow women with arms.” The owners will also need to take a decision whether to allow any lady to use the bar if there are many stags inside the bar.
An official from SDMC stated,
“By making the announcement, we have renewed our commitment for Swachh Baharat Mission. The facility will be reviewed on the basis of the feedback, concerns and practical difficulties faced by the hotels and restaurants in due course.”
This advice was given by LG Anil Baijal to the civic body, keeping in mind safety concerns of women in marketplaces. Many meetings took place between the officials of corporation and officials from the association of hotels and restaurants and then the final plan came into being.
Now a notice will be displayed outside the premises of restaurants and hotels which will make people know that women and kids can use their toilets for free. The ladies of the area are pretty happy as Sarika Agnihotry, a management professional, says,
“It is a bold decision by the civic body because all the public places have insufficient number of toilets in Delhi. It will take away the concerns women have in mind before they step out to visit marketplaces.”
Puneet Kumar Goel, the SDMC commissioner, told TOI,
“The corporation will issue a public notice besides putting up notices in marketplaces to inform the public about the facility.”
In the beginning, it was proposed that males should also be allowed if they pay but the association raised objection on the matter.
Hopefully, the municipal corporations of North Delhi and East Delhi will also learn a lesson and come up with such wonderful initiative. What is your opinion in this connection? Share your views in the comments section below.
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