Panvel: NGO Urges PMC To Provide Basic Amenities, Including Rest Rooms, Toilets & Changing Facilities For Women Sanitation Workers

Panvel, July 17, 2026: Stating that women sanitation workers who keep the city clean continue to work without access to basic amenities, Stree Shakti Foundation has urged the Panvel Municipal Corporation (PMC) to provide dedicated rest rooms, changing facilities, toilets and safe drinking water at sanitation centres across the city.

The demand was made through a representation submitted to PMC Commissioner Mangesh Chitale by Vijaya Chandrakant Kadam, founder of Stree Shakti Foundation.

The organisation said that while the civic body strives to secure top rankings in the Swachh Survekshan and maintain a clean and healthy city, the basic welfare needs of the women sanitation workforce remain neglected.

Foundation Highlights Workers' Plight

According to the memorandum, hundreds of women sanitation workers employed across the PMC limits begin work before dawn every day, cleaning roads, markets, public spaces and government office premises in all weather conditions. Despite their critical contribution to public health and urban cleanliness, they lack essential facilities at their workplaces.

The foundation pointed out that at many attendance booths, male and female sanitation workers are forced to share the same space. As a result, women have no separate area to change clothes, store personal belongings or take short breaks. The lack of dedicated toilets and changing rooms causes particular hardship during menstruation, while workers who fall ill during duty have no private space to rest.

The memorandum stressed that providing women with a safe and dignified workplace is not merely an administrative responsibility but a constitutional obligation that upholds their dignity, privacy, health and safety.

Key Demands Submitted

The foundation has sought the immediate provision of:

● Separate and secure rest rooms for women sanitation workers.

● Dedicated changing rooms.

● Clean and safe toilets exclusively for women.

● Continuous access to safe drinking water.

● Secure storage facilities for personal belongings.

● A designated space where workers can rest temporarily if they feel unwell while on duty.

Kadam said the contribution of women sanitation workers should not be recognised only through appreciation events or speeches. "The true respect for their service lies in providing safe, dignified and humane working conditions. These women are the guardians of the city's public health, and ensuring basic facilities for them is not an expense but a social investment," she said.

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The foundation expressed hope that the PMC administration would consider the demands positively and take an early decision. It added that the initiative is expected to receive support from women sanitation workers, social organisations and citizens who believe that those responsible for maintaining the city's cleanliness deserve safe and dignified working conditions.

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