Chennai: A first free luxury public toilet built by Loocafe Thooya was inaugurated in Indira Nagar MRTS station. The restroom also has a cafe attached to it.
The restroom is the brainchild of Abhishek Nath, founder and chief executive officer of Ixora FM, to turn shipping containers into toilets.
In Tamil Nadu, Loocafe will work with Madurai-based startup Thooya Innovations for implementing the free luxury toilet concept across the state.
Talking to Hindu, Abhishek said that Loocafe has toilet space for men, women, transpersons and people with disabilities. The toilets will also have bars which will help the students access toilets without any difficulties. Works are also on to install braille-friendly instruction to help people touch and access toilets.
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On the future plans, Abhishek said that they also future plans to convert humidity into the water for using it to flush the toilets.
The company plans to install 50 Loocafes by the end of the year and to bring 100 such Loocafes by 2024.
As a next step, Loocafes will be set up in locations including Velachery, Besant Nagar and T Nagar.
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There are also talks to replicate the model in Coimbatore, Madurai and Kodaikanal.
When asked whether the toilets run for free could be sustainable, Venkatesh said, the revenue generated as rent from the shops will be used to run the toilets.
In Indira Nagar, Loocafe has joined hands with Madras Coffee House for running the cafe.