More than 1,000 families residing at Vellakinar in the city are forced to defecate in open due to non-availability of water at community toilets in their locality. This comes at a time when the government announced that there is no water scarcity in the city.
“How could we use the toilets without water? Tanks in the community toilets remain dry almost all day. For almost a month, we have been defecating either near railway tracks or behind the bushes which is 500m away from our locality,” Kasthuri, a resident, said.
To eradicate open defecation, the city corporation constructed community toilets – six each for men and women – in 2010 and it took a lot of time for the residents to start using toilets as they were used to defecating in open.
Kasthuri said it was the corporation who forced them to start using the toilets and now when the residents are comfortable using it, they were forcing them to abandon the toilets without supplying water. Most of the residents are daily wage labourers and would leave houses before 6.30am to reach their workplaces on time.
Explaining that there are a few tanks in community toilets, another resident A Saminathan said the tanks would be filled only when the sanitary workers visit the toilets to clean it. “What is the point of filling the tanks around 11am when nobody is there,” he questioned, adding that the water is not even last for another few hours.
Even though they have been facing uninterrupted water supply to the toilets in the last one year, we never thought that we would be forced to hide behind bushes like the olden days, he said.
“The worst part is that the locality has about 16 street lamps and not even one of them functions. We have been carrying our mobile phone and torch lights with us even to see what is where. A lot of times, we have mistakenly stepped over reptiles and insects and were bitten by them,” Kasthuri said.
The residents had submitted a petition to corporation commission Sravan Kumar Jatavath who in turn had assured to take immediate action.
“How could we use the toilets without water? Tanks in the community toilets remain dry almost all day. For almost a month, we have been defecating either near railway tracks or behind the bushes which is 500m away from our locality,” Kasthuri, a resident, said.
To eradicate open defecation, the city corporation constructed community toilets – six each for men and women – in 2010 and it took a lot of time for the residents to start using toilets as they were used to defecating in open.
Kasthuri said it was the corporation who forced them to start using the toilets and now when the residents are comfortable using it, they were forcing them to abandon the toilets without supplying water. Most of the residents are daily wage labourers and would leave houses before 6.30am to reach their workplaces on time.
Explaining that there are a few tanks in community toilets, another resident A Saminathan said the tanks would be filled only when the sanitary workers visit the toilets to clean it. “What is the point of filling the tanks around 11am when nobody is there,” he questioned, adding that the water is not even last for another few hours.
Even though they have been facing uninterrupted water supply to the toilets in the last one year, we never thought that we would be forced to hide behind bushes like the olden days, he said.
“The worst part is that the locality has about 16 street lamps and not even one of them functions. We have been carrying our mobile phone and torch lights with us even to see what is where. A lot of times, we have mistakenly stepped over reptiles and insects and were bitten by them,” Kasthuri said.
The residents had submitted a petition to corporation commission Sravan Kumar Jatavath who in turn had assured to take immediate action.
Quick Links
Lok Sabha Election Schedule 2019Lok Sabha Election NewsDelhi Capitals teamMI team 2019Rajasthan Royals 2019RCB team 2019Maharashtra Lok Sabha ConstituenciesBJP Candidate ListBJP List 2019 TamilnaduShiv Sena List 2019AP BJP List 2019Mamata BanerjeeBJP List 2019 MaharashtraPriyanka GandhiBJP List 2019 KarnatakaAMMK Candidate List 2019BJP List 2019 WBLok Sabha Elections in Tamil NaduBSP List 2019 UPNews in TamilLok Sabha Poll 2019Satta Matka 2018PM ModiMahagathbandhanNagpur BJP Candidate ListChandrababu NaiduTamil Nadu ElectionsUrmila MatondkarNews in TeluguMadras High CourtTejashwi YadavArvind KejriwalTejasvi SuryaPawan KalyanArvind KejriwalYogi AdityanathJaya PradaSatta King 2019Srinagar encounter
Get the app