Want to use free GCC toilets? Cough up 10
Chennai: Vyasarpadi residents, including women and children, are being charged to use Greater Chennai Corporation public toilets despite these being designated free of charge.
Additionally, public toilets in Sathyamurthy Nagar, Kalyanapuram, Kennedy Street and Gandhipuram are neglected and unsanitary.
Residents say they are charged 10 for adults and 5 for children for using the toilets. The facilities are often littered with plastic waste, cigarette butts and broken beer bottles. Many toilets are locked for several hours, and some even lack doors.
For instance, the Kennedy Street public toilet has been locked.
"We have to walk almost 1 km to find a toilet," said S Kumari, a Sathyamurthy Nagar resident. "Pregnant women depend on others to take them to the toilet on a scooter. Often, we have to wait in long lines or use the open ground nearby," she said.
The toilet on Kennedy Street is open from 5am to 8am and again from 5pm to 7pm. At least 50 to 70 women use it daily. "We are conservancy workers employed under contract by GCC. We start our day at 3.30am to sweep the roads, but we don't have ID cards and are sometimes harassed by the police who demand 500," said V Shanthi, a Kennedy Street resident.
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"The toilet doors in Kalyanapuram have been temporarily fixed, yet, someone must stand guard while another uses the toilet," she added.
Students from the nearby corporation school also use this toilet. "It is closed after 6pm. Tipplers use it as a drinking spot," said civic activist Jaiganesh L M. Toilets in core city areas are maintained better compared to those in North Chennai. Ward 46 councillor S Anandhi said, "No official complaints have been received about money being collected. We will take action to ensure toilets are accessible to all, free of charge.
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