100 petrol pumps in Maharashtra have been identified to be expanded with mandatory space for public toilets, ATMs and restaurants, the state government has decided.
Travelling on Indian highways in many states can be a challenging experience, due to the lack of rest stops with well lit, good facilities. Maharashtra plans to address this lack soon, thanks to a new scheme that will install some 100 such rest stops on highways across the state.
The long wait to visit the loo while travelling on highways will now hopefully end.
100 petrol pumps in Maharashtra have been identified to be expanded with mandatory space for public toilets, ATMs and restaurants, the state government has decided.
Along with that, they will also identify 300 more petrol pump locations, where the said work will proceed in a phased manner, reports Hindustan Times.
This comes after a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the government and three public sector oil companies, who will choose these sites, out of which 2-5 acres of land will be leased to them, the publication reported.
The government expects revenue out of this.
The toilet, ATM and restaurant facilities, however, will have to be maintained by the operator of the petrol pump.
“We are planning toilet facilities every 500 metres on state highways. With this parameter in mind, we need to set up 400 toilets,” Public Works Department Minister, Chandrakant Patil, told HT, adding, “The lessee will have to comply with the construction conditions such as the specified design and size for the toilets. The facility will be free of charge and large enough to cater to busloads of passengers at a time. This has been chalked out to address the problem of the lack of toilets, which especially inconvenience women passengers.”
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