VELLORE: Nearly 300 people from 70 Scheduled Caste families residing at Kammasamuthiram village of Kaniyambadi panchayat in Vellore are being forced to use their neighbours’ toilets or defecate in the open for the past two years as the lone public toilet built by the panchayat is located on a burial ground a km away from their colony.
About 611 people belonging to 171 families reside on Tiruvalluvar, Ambedkar and Kuruku-Puthumanai Streets at the Aadi Dravidar colony. Most of them are daily-wage labourers or work in nearby shoe factories. For years, the villagers have been demanding Indian-type lavatory for each house.
Since 2015, the panchayat has been building toilets under Swachh Bharat Mission and nearly 50% of houses, which have space for constructing a toilet, have got toilets. For the rest of the families, the panchayat decided to build a common facility with two western-type lavatories in 2020–2021 at a cost of Rs 5,25,000 under the SBM.
But Karunakaran, who was the panchayat secretary at the time, did not hold any discussions with the residents of the colony and built a community toilet on a burial ground exclusively meant for SC members located one km from the residential area, residents said.
“Neither the secretary nor other officials sought our opinion while constructing the toilet,” K Manju, a resident, said. The toilet was also locked and the key was given to a private individual in the colony, people said. “The man will give us the key whenever we ask him but most of us don’t use the toilet as it is located in a graveyard,” said Neduncheliyan, another resident.
TNIE visited the spot and found the toilet damaged and filled with liquor bottles. “The toilet has become a den of antisocial elements. We want authorities to demolish the toilet and build a new one in another place,” said social worker M Vasudevan of the colony.
Loo in cemetery: Residents allege ‘casteist minds’
When Vasudevan petitioned the Kaniyambadi panchayat regarding the status of the toilet, authorities said the facility has been in public use for the past two years. “Is this toilet for the use of people or for corpses in the crematorium? This seems to have been deliberately done with a casteiest mindset,” Vasudevan said.
Residents said, 70 families that lack toilets at home go to their neighbours, and some use toilets at their workplace. “I have been residing here for 40 years. I defecate only in the open. I am old. How can I travel to a cemetery for using the toilet?” asks K T Maragadham.
“I work in a shoe factory. I have been using the company toilet for the past 18 months. It is tough during menstruation,” says Saranya, another resident. Even those with individual toilets at home lack proper bathing rooms. They use the toilet for bathing by covering the commode with a wooden plank.
The 3ftX3ft toilets cost of Rs 12,000 each, people said. “I use toilets in schools as my home toilet is unhygienic. I use the toilet for bathing too,” said a Class VII student.
Kammasamuthiram block development officer Gowri told TNIE that the issue will be resolved soon. N Karunakaran, current panchayat secretary of Kathanyampattu who served as secretary of Kaniyambadi panchayat told TNIE, “I recommended the location for constructing the toilet in 2021 because people utilised that spot for open defecation. We would not have built the toilet there if people had objected, but no such request was made,” he said. The residents, however, denied the allegation.