Consumer goods company Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) and HSBC India opened their 7th and the biggest Suvidha Centre in Mumbai in partnership with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The centre that opened up in Mumbai’s Dharavi area among the most densely populated areas in the world has 111 public toilets and is one of India’s largest community toilet blocks.

“HUL designed Suvidha as an urban community hygiene and sanitation centre to provide improved access to hygiene and sanitation facilities for communities. As part of this initiative with HSBC India, the Suvidha centres will provide access to water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH) services to nearly 2,00,000 women, children, men and people with disabilities in Mumbai every year and is on

track to save 35 million litres water every year”, the two said in a statement on Thursday. HUL will also organize behaviour change programmes on water, sanitation, nutrition, health and hygiene in the communities around the centre. The centre is designed to save over 6.5 million litres of fresh water every year by reusing treated wastewater and rainwater harvesting. BMC, HUL and HSBC India plan to build ten more Suvidha Centres in identified areas of the city. Currently, a total of seven centres operate in the city.

These Suvidha Centres will provide access to sanitation to nearly 4,00,000 people annually. “Suvidha Centres foster holistic health and wellbeing of all citizens by providing them easy access to clean drinking water, hygiene, and sanitation services”, Aaditya Thackeray, Cabinet Minister of Tourism, Environment and Protocol, Maharashtra and Guardian Minister, Mumbai Suburban District said. Access to clean water and sanitation is one of the most pressing issues, said Sanjiv Mehta, Chairman and Managing Director, HUL. The latest Suvidha Centre in Dharavi is a powerful example of how health and wellbeing goals can be achieved at scale when public and private partners come together, he said. The requirement of the Suvidha centre is the need of the hour and we wish to open up more and better equipped centres across the city in the coming months, said Hitendra Dave, General Manager & CEO, HSBC India.