CHENNAI: The roof of a Chennai corporation-run public toilet collapsed suddenly on Monday at Ramapuram killing a senior citizen, who was using the toilet, on the spot. Local residents alleged that the toilet was very poorly maintained and that this could have resulted in the collapse of the roof.
However, police said they are unable to investigate this angle as, just two hours after the incident, corporation officials, for reasons unknown, fully demolished the structure leaving behind only debris.
The deceased was identified as M Ramalingam, 65, a resident of Gandhi Nagar who worked at a tea shop. His family said Ramalingam was known to loiter around the area.
On Monday, at around 5.30 am, a few auto drivers spotted him sleeping in the toilet and pulled him out, as he was in an inebriated condition. Around 7.30 am, Ramalingam is believed to have had woken up and gone to use the toilet when the roof collapsed and fell on him.
A local shopkeeper who saw the incident alerted the Royala Nagar police station, located close by. However, Ramalingam had reportedly died on the spot. The locals expressed anger over the incident saying their repeated complaints about the poor condition of toilet went unheeded.
“The toilet was used mostly by shopkeepers and autorickshaw drivers. Since it was in a poor condition, we informed the Royala Nagar police station,” said a staff of an Amma Unavagam located close to the toilet.
A Corporation official denied the toilet had been poorly maintained and said the civic body was looking into why the roof collapsed. A bulldozer said to be engaged by the Corporation demolished the structure. A police officer said, “They have now completely demolished the building and we cannot probe whether there was a problem in the building.” He said corporation officials had submitted bills and other documents to claim that periodic maintenance was being done.
Ramalingam’s family was preparing for the wedding of his daughter scheduled to take place in December.
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