Thirty-year-old Parvathy sits just next to the toilet in a makeshift house. She does not have a place to bathe or attend nature’s call. ‘‘I walk for a kilometre up to Foreshore Estate to take bath in a public toilet there as the one in Nochikuppam is closed,’’ she says.
She says the public toilet helped the squatters of Nochikuppam, especially women, as it was spacious and well-maintained back then. ‘‘We don’t know why the Corporation closed the toilet. For men, it doesn’t matter as they attend nature’s call in the beach whereas for us, it is important,’’ says Parvathy, who lives in the hope that she’d get a permanent settlement in the village once the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board finishes building the houses.
The toilets were built a decade ago to cater to the families who had been living in Nochikuppam in temporary settlements. However, now that thousands of them have been evicted to other places, the number of people who use the toilets has come down.
Sundari, who maintains the other Corporation toilet on the road, said that at least 1000 people used to come to the toilet one year ago whereas now only 20 people come. ‘‘It is mostly passersby who stop and come. The locals who live in the Loop Road have toilets in their houses while some just use the beach,’’ she said.
When Express visited the Corporation toilets, one was locked and the doors were completely rusted while the other one had walls in dilapidated condition and dirty floors. ‘‘It has been like this for a year. When the toilet is clogged, the Corporation sends people to clear it. Otherwise, no measures have been taken to maintain it,’’ she said.
When contacted, Corporation officials said they had closed the first toilet as there were hardly any people using it. ‘‘We will send people to inspect the working toilet and keep it in good condition,’’ said the official.
