Bengaluru police partner with loo-discovery app to locate washrooms for women officers

Inadequate washroom facilities are a major concern for working women in the city.

Bengaluru city police on August 19 partnered with a Mumbai-based startup to ensure clean and safe washrooms for women officers.

Officials said they have tied up with the loo-discovery app Woloo. "The mobile app designed by Woloo enables women personnel to locate the nearest Woloo washroom facility," said Bengaluru city police commissioner B Dayananda.

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Inadequate washroom facilities are a major concern for working women in the city. Many of the existing public toilets are also poorly maintained. Bengaluru's civic body, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), had planned to build 'she-toilets' for women, but the project is yet to take off. BBMP has also proposed permitting the general public to use toilets situated in public restaurants and hotels.

Also, read: General public to be allowed to use toilets in hotels and restaurants in Bengaluru

According to a public toilet survey conducted by NGO Janagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy in 2021, “As per the list of public toilets available on the BBMP website, Bengaluru has 478 public toilets. With a population projection of 1.2 crore for Bengaluru currently, this translates to 1 public toilet per 25,000 citizens, making the existing public toilet infrastructure in the city grossly insufficient.”

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