Non-functional toilets in Thideer Nagar restored

Govind Murugan, Convenor of Dhagam Foundation, working with the women living in the slums, highlighted the lack of facilities for the residents to this newspaper. A day later, the six toilets were opened and those that were used as a tippler’s point by the men in the local community, were cleaned up. “The Greater Chennai Corporation officials had cleaned up the toilets and opened the others that were locked. However, these toilets have no water tanks and the pipes are broken. The officials have promised that the work will be completed soon. Without this facility, the toilets will get dirty and non-usable soon,” he said, adding that there is a demand for more toilets, as there are around 600 families living in the locality. 

Mahalakshmi R, a biotechnology engineering student and a resident, said there is a need to provide water facility to these toilets. “Many of the families don’t know that the toilets are functional. Once the water facility is provided, we should go around and tell the families that there is a toilet they can use. The awareness has to be created and strict monitoring should be done to ensure that the toilets are maintained and don’t return to the shabby condition,” she added. 

An official from the Corporation said, “We have cleaned up the toilets and had a plumber inspect the facilities. Within the next few days, the water facility will be provided, making these toilets functional.”