COIMBATORE : Women and children were put to inconvenience as the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) failed to make adequate arrangements like placing mobile toilets during the annual Koniamman temple car festival on Wednesday. The annual festival is one of the important events in the district and several thousands of people converge on Raja Street to witness it.
Though it is an annual event, the civic body failed to anticipate the crowd and make arrangements.
K Mathangi, a resident of Edayar Street told TNIE, “Thousands of people have come to witness the annual festival from across the district. But the arrangements are not up to the mark. The organisers failed to arrange even basic amenities for the people. There were no mobile toilets. People, especially women and children were unable to relieve themselves. Even the police personnel were inconvenienced.”
The civic body in its budget for 2023-24 announced plans to introduce mobile toilets at a cost of `32 lakh. But did not take any steps to implement it. Speaking to TNIE, CCMC Commissioner M Sivaguru Prabakaran said, “We handed over a couple of mobile toilets to the executive officer of the temple. The officer might have installed it somewhere. Apart from that, we have also made all other arrangements for the festival including the sanitary and other work.”
An official from the sanitary section of the CCMC, however, told TNIE that no mobile toilets was arranged for the car festival.