Bollywood star Akshay Kumar cast his vote in Mumbai on Wednesday morning for the Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024, and while he interacted with the media, and elderly man reached out to him with a complaint. The actor assured him that he will speak to the civic officials of the area to resolve the issue.
In a video that has now surfaced, an elderly man can be seen complaining to Akshay about a public toilet that the actor had set up in Juhu. It seems to be the one that the actor installed near Juhu beach in 2018 after his wife Twinkle Khanna had posted about people defecating at the beach.
In the video, the man can be seen greeting Akshay and complaining about how the toilet is not taken care of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials. He said tha that he has been maintaining the toilet for the past 3-4 years, to which Akshay replied, "Thik hai, uspe kaam kar lete hai. Main baat kar lunga BMC se."
However, the man seemed dissatisfied and he went on to say how the civic body's negligence has resulted into expenses. He also asked Akshay to install another toilet, to which the actor replied that he has already done his part, and now it was BMC's job to maintain the toilet.
"Vo roz sadta hai, roz uspe paise lagana padta hai...Dabba aapko dena hai, main laga deta hoon," the man said, to which Akshay replied, "Dabba toh main de chuka hoon...Vo sadd gaya hai toh vo BMC dhyaan rakhegi."
For those unversed, back in 2017, Akshay's wife Twinkle had posted a picture of a man openly defecating on Juhu beach, along with the caption, "Good morning and I guess here is the first scene of Toilet Ek Prem Katha part 2 #WhenYourWalkGoesDownTheToilet," and it had stirred up a row as locals had mentioned how the slum dwellers in the area had no choice but to relieve themselves at the beach.
Cut to 2018, Akshay teamed up with Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray and installed bio-toilets worth Rs 10 lakh near Juhu and Versova beaches for public use.