A nursing pod for mothers, also known as the feeding room, in the Gandhipuram Town Bus Stand here reopened recently after being closed for over two years. The one in the Gandhipuram Central Bus Stand will also be reopened soon, according to a senior official in the civic body.
A female conservancy worker would be appointed to clean and ensure security for this room, he added.
The facility was installed by NGOs Chandran’s Yuva Foundation and Agni Women Empowerment Organisation in 2018 at Gandhipuram, Singanallur and Ukkadam bus stands and the new bus stand on Mettupalayam Road. They are currently maintained by the Corporation.
Official sources claimed that the pods were closed because miscreants used the area for anti-social activities such as consuming alcohol at night. “Only if any mother approaches us asking for a secluded place to feed or is waiting outside, we open it,” the sources said.
Earlier, Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation General Manager S. Senthil Kumar said they had sent a petition to the civic body last year regarding the issue.
Another official confirmed that the persons responsible would make sure the facility was opened at the new bus stand on Mettupalayam road and the Singanallur bus depot too.
It is to be noted that the Coimbatore Corporation plans to add nursing pods and sanitary pad incinerators to the bus stand in front of the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital on Trichy Road under the Smart City Mission.
Welcoming the new amenities, Coimbatore Consumer Cause secretary K. Kathirmathiyon said considering that the same amenities were almost defunct at larger bus stops, maintenance and operation had to be reviewed.
Published - April 09, 2023 06:27 pm IST
