Pune: It was revealed during the question-answer session of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC)’s general body that public toilets for women across Pune reportedly have serious safety shortcomings, with several civic wards highlighting that facilities had neither female security guards nor functioning CCTV cameras.Elected members had raised questions regarding the condition of public toilets, particularly for women, security arrangements and monitoring of contractors.PMC has now proposed 100 modern prefabricated toilets for women at an estimated budget of Rs40.6 crore, while a provision of Rs21.5 crore had already been laid out in the 2026-27 civic budget.Meanwhile, data showed that out of 134 toilets under the Dhole Patil Road ward office, 125 were accessible, four were closed and five were dilapidated. The Sinhagad Road ward office has 60 toilets (35 operational, 25 closed), while the Yerawada-Wadgaon Sheri ward office has 55 (14 permanently closed). Ward offices including Wanowrie (20 toilets), Nagar Road-Wagholi (19), and Aundh-Baner (9) reported operational facilities. Facilities in all wards lacked CCTV cameras and female security guards. Only Warje-Karvenagar ward planned to install them, while Aundh-Baner ward had contacted the electrical department regarding CCTV cameras.Additionally, availability of the facilities for women was inadequate on key transit routes. The Swargate–Katraj stretch (notably Swargate to Ahilyadevi Chowk) lacked the facilities due to land constraints. Availability was slightly better on the Swargate-Hadapsar and Swargate-Wadgaon Sheri routes, the administration said in its reply.“PMC has introduced a number of initiatives for women and public sanitation facilities. Smart toilets, modern toilets, mobile toilets and other such amenities have been provided. There are women’s toilets at places with high footfall, like markets and gardens,” said a senior official of the PMC’s solid waste management department.The reply to the question raised by corporators highlighted gaps in monitoring. The Aundh-Baner and Kothrud-Bavdhan ward offices inspected facilities twice daily, whereas other wards relied on periodic health inspector and mukadam visits. Despite identified irregularities, no punitive actions were taken against contractors. Consequently, despite planned expansions, the absence of basic security infrastructure left serious doubts regarding the safety and accessibility of public sanitation for women.“Pune has a large number of working women and a floating population. Lack of usable public toilets for them is a problem. Authorities should make sure that good quality, safe and clean toilets are made for women in the city,” said Teja Paranjape, a resident of Sinhagad Road.“The civic body plans to set up dedicated maintenance for these facilities. Our committee is contemplating installation of sanitary napkin vending machines and incinerators in women’s washrooms,” said Tanvi Divekar, member of PMC’s women child and welfare committee. She said they were working to change the designs, toilets for men and women would be constructed at a distance from each and with separate and safe entry for women.
