CHENNAI: The councillor and locals got their hands dirty this week, clearing out a portion of overgrown bushes that found home at a corporation middle school toilet in Ramanathapuram, Tiruvottiyur.
The group joined two corporation staff who were engaged to remove the bushes after metro water staff, who came to clear a blockage at the toilet’s septic tank, returned after they found it impossible to navigate the bushes.
“The block had to be cleared quickly since it was a school toilet so we’d asked the corporation to clear the bushes. Two women, who were in their late 50s were engaged but we decided it would be quicker if we, as local residents and councillor, joined in,” said R Jayaraman, councillor of ward 4. The bushes were cleared in a few hours.
The empty space adjacent to the toilet building, had been occupied by overgrown bushes, over the course of several years, which residents said were not cleared until the need to clear the septic tank arose. According to local residents, the toilet was unusable for a week due to the blockage, inconveniencing the middle school students.
“For one week, we tried to get various parties involved and clear the bushes but it seemed to be taking time. Then, the corporation finally sent two women so we joined them in clearing it,” said a resident. After the bushes were removed, the septic tank blockage has been attended to and the toilet is now in use, he added.