UP's first toilet for transgenders comes up in Varanasi

Varanasi, Feb 18 (IANS) The first toilet for transgenders in Uttar Pradesh has been built by the state government in the Kamachha area in Varanasi under the Smart City project to ensure the participation of the community in the cleanliness of the city.Varanasi mayor Mridula Jaiswal inaugurated the toilet on Thursday."It is the first transgender toilet in Uttar Pradesh. We will build more wherever they are required," she told reporters.Municipal commissioner of Varanasi, Gaurang Rathi said, "These toilets are only for third genders and not for the others. This was a long-awaited demand as they have faced a lot of difficulties. We plan to build four more such toilets in the next two to three months."In 2014, the Supreme Court had ordered that separate toilets should be constructed for transgenders but only a few have been constructed so far in cities like Mysuru, Bhopal and Nagpur.
--IANS amita/kr