Will pollute water in the holy well inside Indawalla Agiary, they fear, while other locals protest its location next to a holy Peepul tree
Residents protest in front of the under-construction toilet
Others claimed that the BMC was constructing a toilet when there was no requirement for one in the area. "There are at least two other public toilets within walking distance from here (the garden). Instead of repairing the ones in bad shape, the BMC is constructing a toilet in a garden which is already quite small to begin with," said Pervez Cooper. Local residents also pointed to the fact that the Chattrapati Vyayamshala (a municipal gymnasium) constructed inside the garden leaves little space for children to play. Janak Sanghvi, a former corporator, said, "The play area is small and the toilet will shrink the size of the garden further."
Another resident, Prakash Jadhav said that the toilet would cause trouble to women worshipping a 100-year-old Peepul tree inside the garden. "I have seen many women performing puja there every morning. How can they make a toilet right next to it?" he said.
The residents have submitted a written complaint to the C ward office on January 2 demanding that the toilet be shifted elsewhere. While assistant municipal commissioner Sunil Sardar of C ward couldn't be reached for comment, S K Mudhe, assistant engineer of the SWM department confirmed the news. "It's a market area and there is no toilet facility here. There is a need for a public toilet and there is no other space available apart from the garden. We're constructing the toilet in one corner of the garden and the children's play area is intact," he said.
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