Yogita Dighe works as a salesperson at an electronics store in Aundh, an upmarket neighbourhood in Pune, India’s ninth-largest city.
Even though she has a comfortable job, Dighe used to be filled with consternation at the thought of having to use the store’s toilet. It is a unisex space shared by customers and staff, and is “constantly dirty” owing to overuse, being cleaned only once every day or two.
“It smells and I don’t like to enter it,” she says.
A year ago, Dighe discovered a “Ti bus” (“ti” translating as “her” from Marathi) – a restroom inside a decommissioned bus, parked about five minutes away from her workplace. Since then, she’s used it regularly. Cleaned after every use, the toilets within the bus “feel nice and fresh”.
Dighe says she can also wash and freshen up there, since running water and a mirror are always available, unlike the bathroom at her workplacr.
Dighe is not alone. Her peers, women working elsewhere in the market in shops and small offices, as well as female sweepers, vada pav and chai hawkers, security guards and police officers who do not have access to clean toilets in their vicinity, are also regulars, says Manisha Adhav, the attendant who works at the Aundh Ti bus.
Currently, 12 decommissioned city buses in Pune have been converted and refurbished into restrooms by SaraPlast, a private sanitation company.
Located near public parks, bus stops and tourist centres, the buses-turned-bathrooms fulfil a deficit for women not only in Pune, but also in Hyderabad, Andaman and Nicobar’s touristy Neil Island and, as of next month, in Noida and Gandhinagar.
It is common for women in India to scramble to find a clean toilet during their daily commute to work, school or while running errands. Bus stops, crowded markets and even tourist spots either lack hygienic restrooms or don’t have one at all, leading women to avoid drinking water for hours.
The True Cost of Poor Sanitation, the most recent report on the subject conducted by Lixil, WaterAid Japan and Oxford Economics, in 2016, stated that a lack of access to sanitation cost India 5.2 per cent of its GDP in 2015. The situation has not improved much since then.
Every person, whether rich or poor, should have access to a good, clean toilet
Ulka Sadalkar,
director, SaraPlast
Pune has only 1,240 toilets for a population of 6.8 million, according to the Pune Municipal Corporation. Some of these are non-functional, and many others are used as dumping grounds for tobacco and cigarette butts. Most Indian cities also suffer from a lack of constant flowing water in public toilets.
It’s why the team at SaraPlast, which is in the business of building portable toilets for construction sites, decided to build these lavatories for women and children. Each solar-powered bus toilet comes with a full-time female attendant and can be accessed either free of charge or for a fee of 5 rupees (25 fils), affordable even for low-income women.
Prior to the pandemic, the average footfall for restrooms was 150 to 200 per day, says Ulka Sadalkar, SaraPlast’s director.
A study published in the Indian Journal of Gender Studies in 2019, found that women were unable to use public toilets owing to a lack of water, adequate light, accessibility and visibility from main roads, sanitary towel disposal bins and absence of female attendants.
SaraPlast’s toilets check all these boxes. Showers, Indian and western latrines, breastfeeding and baby-changing stations, sanitary towels and drinking water are all included in the buses to meet the needs of every woman.
Vaishnavi Rajput, a business development professional in Pune, has become particularly picky about public toilets since the pandemic started. “I choose the Ti bus over a lot of cafe toilets,” she says.
Sadalkar says: “Every person, whether rich or poor, should have access to a good, clean toilet.”
But to run a sustainable business, the space includes either a kiosk selling masks and juices or an affordable health diagnostic centre, set up on one side of the bus. Banner ads also bring in revenue, which goes towards water supply, electricity, repairs and the salary of the attendant who cleans and maintains the restroom from 8am to 8pm.
In India, a public bus goes out of commission after 15 years. Pune’s transport department recently auctioned 400 buses for scrapping and has 150 more in its stores.
Recycling the body of the buses and building toilets within them prolongs their life by up to two decades, aside from the social service it offers.
Buses are placed where brick and mortar toilets cannot be built owing to a lack of space and infrastructure.
“I don’t have to buy land or get permissions, so it is faster than constructing a concrete toilet,” Sadalkar says. “A bus toilet can also be placed on a heritage site without damaging anything, which is a big advantage.”
While the running costs are borne by SaraPlast, the funding for construction comes from the CSR departments of corporates, while the local municipality office appoints a location, and sorts out connections to existing drainage, water and electricity lines.
Other cities are following in Pune’s footsteps, too. Last year, Bengaluru commissioned SaraPlast to convert a scrapped bus into a toilet and installed it at a bus stop in the city.
The concept was so well received that NK Basavaraju, chief mechanical engineer – production at Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation, says: "Now, the city’s transport department is emulating the design to create many more bus toilets.”
* Video shot and provided by SaraPlast
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
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WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
Panipat
Director Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment
Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman
Rating 3 /5 stars
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10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
The biog
Profession: Senior sports presenter and producer
Marital status: Single
Favourite book: Al Nabi by Jibran Khalil Jibran
Favourite food: Italian and Lebanese food
Favourite football player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Languages: Arabic, French, English, Portuguese and some Spanish
Website: www.liliane-tannoury.com
Honeymoonish
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THREE
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