GUWAHATI: GMC Commissioner Debeshwar Malakar announced that all women and children will be able to use washrooms in any restaurant or hotel, even five star hotels, in Guwahati for free.
The decision was announced on Thursday, July 26 and will be in effect from Friday, July 26.
Debeshwar said that this has been done in an effort to make the city woman and child friendly in addition to working in tandem with the clean India movement.
As per reports, the GMC Commissioner said that although 33 bio-toilets have been installed in the city, that is not enough to serve the purpose. Hence, to accommodate more, this decision has been taken.
It is to be mentioned that as per the Centre’s guidelines, the toilets of hotels and restaurants, irrespective of their star category, have to allow the general public to use their facilities. The provision for the same has already been included in their trade licenses.
The GMC Commissioner also said that if any hotel, restaurant or shopping mall authority refuses to provide the service, then penalties would be levied.
Speaking to Times of India, some corporation officials mentioned that this provision was not yet available for men and a decision for the same would be taken later.