Mumbai: Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) and HSBC India today announced the launch of its 7th and biggest Suvidha Centre in Mumbai in partnership with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The center is located at Dharavi, which is known as one of the most densely populated areas in the world, with over 2,00,000 people inhabiting per square km.
HUL designed Suvidha as an urban community hygiene and sanitation center to provide improved access to hygiene and sanitation facilities for communities. As part of this initiative with HSBC India, the Suvidha centers 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 liters water every year.
With 111 toilets, the Dharavi Suvidha Centre will be one of India’s biggest community toilet blocks, catering to over 50,000 users every year. Additionally, to ensure maximum impact, HUL will undertake behavior change programs on water, sanitation, nutrition, health & hygiene in the communities around the center.
Keeping sustainability at its core, the new center will be powered by solar panels and treat and reuse greywater from handwashing stations, laundromats to be used for flushing in the toilets. The center is designed to save over 6.5 million liters of fresh water every year by reusing treated wastewater and rainwater harvesting.
At the inauguration, the BMC, HUL, and HSBC India announced their commitment to build ten more Suvidha Centres in identified areas of the city. These Suvidha Centres will provide access to safe sanitation to nearly 4,00,000 people every year and will cumulatively save 800 million liters of water over the next decade.
Aaditya Thackeray, Hon’ble Cabinet Minister of Tourism, Environment & Protocol, Maharashtra & Guardian Minister, Mumbai Suburban District, said, “We appreciate the efforts undertaken by Hindustan Unilever and HSBC India for partnering with the BMC for this initiative. Suvidha Centres foster holistic health and wellbeing of all citizens by providing them easy access to clean drinking water, hygiene, and sanitation services.”
Sanjiv Mehta, Chairman and Managing Director, HUL, said, “Access to clean water and sanitation is one of the most pressing issues of our time. HUL’s Suvidha centers are an embodiment of our commitment to provide good quality hygiene and sanitation facilities to all. Our largest Suvidha Centre in Dharavi, which has been established in partnership with HSBC India and the BMC, is a powerful example of how health and wellbeing goals can be achieved at scale when public and private partners come together.”
Hitendra Dave, General Manager & CEO, HSBC India, said, “HSBC and HUL Partnering together for the Suvidha center is a true example of what one can achieve with a collaborative effort. Addressing the hygiene and sanitation problems of the people of Dharavi was on the priority list since the inception of the project, and we are happy to be able to contribute towards addressing the pressing civic woes in one of the most densely populated communities in the city. The requirement of the Suvidha centre is the need of the hour and we wish to open up more and better-equipped centers across the city in the coming months.”
