Mumbai, October 2: A swanky and eco-friendly public toilet equipped with solar panel and vacuum technology to save water has come up at the Marine Drive in south Mumbai. Built at a whopping cost of Rs 90 lakh, the facility will be of great help to the general public, including joggers and cyclists, who throng the iconic promenade, a civic official said. People do not have to pay any fee to use it, he said.

Shiv Sena's youth wing leader Aditya Thackeray inaugurated the six-block toilet here Monday. Leading alloy-maker JSW Steel, Samatech Foundation, the social development arm of Samatech company, and the Nariman Point Churchgate Citizens Association came together to set up the facility. Mumbai Coastal Road Project Gets Nod From BMC Standing Committee, Work to Begin From October.

A toilet generally requires eight litres of water for a single flush, but this facility uses only 800 ml water, an official of the JSW Steel said. "Besides saving water, the toilet's vacuum technology will prevent a few million litres of raw sewage from getting flushed directly into the Marine Drive bay each year," Samatech Foundation's co-founder Akshat Gupta said.