Salman Khan to help stamp out open defecation

Mumbai: Actor Salman Khan is now the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) ambassador for its anti-open defecation campaign. The Dabangg actor has donated five mobile toilets from his Being Human Foundation and urged the public to keep them clean.

The development came after Mr Khan complained of people relieving themselves in the open in front of his house at Bandra Bandstand. Soon after, the civic body invited the actor to come on board the Swacchh Bharat Mission campaign, and Mr Khan obliged.

Mr Khan told media persons, “It’s a bad, embarrassing visual, especially women opting for open defecation. This thought made me restless and I decided to be part of this mission.”

Asked about the plight of women owing to absence of clean toilets and sanitary pad dispensing machines within these toilets, he said, “We should make this our priority and it is a very important thing. I am sure these toilets will be useful. Please use the toilets and keep them clean, thinking about the next person who will use them.”    

It is unfortunate that despite BMC being Asia’s richest civic body, it has failed to construct special toilets for women. BMC commissioner Ajoy Mehta meanwhile said, “30,000 sweepers are working to make Mumbai clean and of course we are the first ‘city’ to spread awareness and resist open defecation.”

While BMC has identified 78 spots to install mobile toilet vans, the civic body is working on just 21 out of 78. Ward officers had identified 118 locations but have succeeded in making only 44 of them open defecation free. As for Mr Khan, this is the second time he has been appointed ambassador for a social cause.