Thane builds 'period room' in toilet to maintain menstrual hygiene: Report

In a first of its kind, the Thane Municipal Corporation in collaboration with an NGO has built a ‘period room’ in a one-storey toilet block in the city’s Lokmanya Nagar.

The toilet block was opened to users on Monday.

The ‘period room’ has a urinal, a jet spray, a toilet roll holder, soap, running water, and a dustbin. According to a report by The Indian Express, TMC is planning to have much room in all its public toilets.

“This is a low-cost innovation that took only Rs 45,000. We will replicate this in all our toilets, which would mean a minimum of 120 community toilets,” says Deputy Municipal Commissioner Manish Joshi told The Indian Express.

However, due to low awareness, not many people have started using the ‘period room’ yet. The NGO that assisted TMC in creating it said that it would inform women in the slum areas about the room during their regular menstrual hygiene sessions.

“We realised that there are no urinals designed for women anywhere. The urinal we have installed in the period room is fashioned out of a washbasin,” The news website quoted Muse Foundation founder Nishant Bangera.