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        'Tis well that this city's residents are unable to look at their surroundings directly. The distress they would see would drive them mad.

        A family waits at the bus-stand behind the old Fruit Market in George Town. Father, mother and three children (aged between three and eight) with their bags are to get a bus. Suddenly one of the youngsters wants to go to the bathroom. The parents try to hush him.

        The older boy looks at the sibling with pity — and concern — he is old enough to know his parents will soon lose patience. The father soon does, and in sheer desperation leads the lad to the nearby toilet. The stink is unbearable. Others look on, with pity mingled with anger. It is traumatic.

        The lack of public — let alone clean — toilets poses problems to thousands in this city, which boasts of the prefix Singara. Morning walkers, travellers, people going to work do not find a decent toilet within sight. Women and children suffer the most.

        People will not think twice where they pee, be it a temple or a school wall. Many a wayside plant has been fed from a clear spring. And, many places — a walk along posh Boat Club Road is one that comes to mind — have proved an eyesore to the ladies and gentlemen passing by in their limousines.

        The Corporation is supposed to look after sanitation. But that's the last thing it does. Nowhere, in this city at least, is there a public toilet one would visit, even if one were in a hurry. The scene is terrible at railway stations. Unable to bear the stench, many urinate and defecate in the open, posing a new set of problems.

        A friend once said her children, as they were walking along Nungambakkam High Road, cried, so badly that they want to go to the toilet. 'All we could do was enter a restaurant, order something and allow the children to use the rest rooms there. Well-maintained toilets in such places can make such a difference,' she said.

        Many have said that if they are on Anna Salai they step into Spencer Plaza. 'Here are a number of rooms and they are reasonably clean,' they said.

        Where is the hurdle? The answer from officials at Ripon Buildings was. And they gave all the lame excuses. No staff, who's to supervise, no water — as is always the case — and blaming other workers. 'That is not our job,' they said.

        The solution is simple, the well-meaning argued. 'Leave the place clean for the next person.' For a city with 45 lakh residents, a floating population of 15 lakh and more than 8,000 slums, Chennai is woefully inadequate when it comes to public sanitation. The civic body, a superintendent said, operates about 800 toilets. 'Several of them are badly maintained, kept locked or are always under repair.'

        'The Corporation has not been able to hand over the maintenance to contractors,' he added. In instances where it has there has been a clamour to bag the contracts. (matched only by the rush for them). 'Many of the Councillors only want contracts to make money. They are not bothered about your welfare,' he said. Recently, goondas forced the contract-holder of a public toilet near Velankanni shrine at Besant Nagar to vacate.

        Many of the structures are near slums. The Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department's policy veers towards provision of toilets for the poor who have none at home. Sanitation for the urban poor should be a high-priority issue, so too toilets for daily commuters to the city, tourists and motorists. The need is especially high in commercial areas — Park Town, T Nagar and Purasawalkam. The shops or restaurants lack these facilities or they do have them, reserve them for the staff.

        Then there are salesmen, construction workers, courier boys and autorickshaw drivers, who need to be on the road for several hours a day. 'Only some toilets are usable. I use them only if I absolutely have to,' said R Chandrasekhar, a taxi driver.

        Loos have been built at more than 10 stations in the Chennai Central - Arakkonam section, but they remain locked. Reasons cited range from lack of water to delay in floating tenders to lack of interest among contractors.

        Vyasarpadi, Perambur Carriage Works, Korattur, Ambattur, Patravakkam, Thirumullaivoyal and Annanur stations have brand new toilets that are not in use because contractors have not responded to the call for tenders. Tenders were called for a third time recently.

        At the Pattabiram station, the septic tank is under repair. A pit was dug nearby to hold the sewage but it is now overflowing to the track. In the Madras-Tambaram stretch, Tirusoolam, Nungambakkam and Chetpet stations do not have toilets. The lack of interest in providing passenger amenities is inexplicable, given that rising revenues show an increasing usage of local trains, said S Mohanram, secretary, Railway Passengers Association. The Tambaram railway station has two public toilets that are inadequate, as about 200 suburban trains and 20 long-distance trains cross the junction.

        Bus-stands are no better. At Saidapet and Parrys commuters urinate on compound walls. At Tambaram, the facility has become a parking lot for a restaurant. There are no public toilets at East Tambaram where buses plying to Medavakkam, Madipakkam, Velachery and Sholinganallur are parked. Ambattur residents had a word of praise for the public toilets near Ambattur OT bus terminus. However, more such facilities are required, they said.

        There advertisements on main roads are allowed only in kiosks and on toilet blocks — so that became a profitable venture. The Government has to back up such plans.