Chennai: The Chennai Corporation’s free-to-use public toilet in Perumal Koil Street behind Megamart in Arumbakkam in the city has been under lock and key for the last 10 months.
This has made life difficult for hundreds of devotees thronging the three temples dotting the area during the auspicious Aadi month.
Past president of Lions Club Arumbakkam, Raja Kulasekaran, brought this issue to the notice of Anna Nagar Talk. The toilet belongs to Zone 8, Division 105 and Area 22 of the Chennai Corporation.
He said,”Three temples are located in this area – The Panchali Amman Temple, Perumal Temple and Bala Vinayagar Temple. This being Aadi, hundreds of devotees come here on a daily basis to take part in festivities. They face hardship due to lack of toilet facility. Women and children especially suffer.”
‘News Today’ learnt that the problem is not limited to just devotees. There are 500 families living here, in addition to many small shops. Many of the families live in one-room houses and shanties without toilet facilities.
These people had been using the public toilet daily. But, after the toilet became unusable, they have been left without an alternative. The residents living in shanties have been forced to wake up in the wee hours to defecate in the open on the banks of the Cooum.
“When the residents took this issue to the notice of the authorities, they gave various reasons for the situation but no solution. One official said there was a plumbing problem. Another said groundwater availability in the area had gone below 50 feet,” says Kulasekaran.
Kulasekaran raises a valid point here. “What is the use of spending so much on Swachh Bharat advertisements when we can’t provide proper public toilet or make use of the existing facilities here?”
He adds that there is another public toilet nearby which has been lying unused for many months. The residents, temple devotees and Kulasekaran request the authorities to provide the necessary amenities and make the toilets usable.