In a pilot project, the Tiruchi City Corporation has decided to waive user fee at 20 pay-and-use toilets in the city to encourage people to use the facility voluntarily rather than relieving themselves in the open.
The initiative is part of the civic body’s drive to eradicate open defecation in the city. Even though Tiruchi was declared open defecation free (ODF) by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in 2017, it continues to be challenged by low toilet usage which has resulted in several areas becoming open air lavatories by default.
The Corporation has 300 public toilets under its purview. According to Corporation Health Officer T. Manivannan, the fee waiver has been implemented in community toilets of low-income residential areas in the city, and its outcome would determine the programme’s extension to the other areas.
“We have handed over the maintenance of the toilets to non-governmental organisations working in the field of sanitation on the understanding that they will appoint a dedicated caretaker for each of these toilets and cleaning would be done with mechanical assistance. This will help safeguard the public amenities from damage as well,” Dr. Manivannan told The Hindu.
Society for Community Organisation and People’s Education (SCOPE) is an NGO involved in the trial and is maintaining toilets at Edamalaipatti Pudur, Periya Milagupaarai, and Kooni Bazaar, among other areas in the city.
“Making toilets free has helped increase the usage of these facilities,” said SCOPE founder M. Subburaman.
Earlier this year, the Corporation teamed up with local traders to install closed circuit cameras and floodlights on a street near Thanneerpandhal at Gandhi Market to discourage people from relieving themselves in the open and also prevent indiscriminate dumping of waste.
“We have noticed that most of the newly constructed facilities have ring-type septic tanks, which tend to fill up faster. House owners prefer to defecate in the open rather than pay the desludging operator to empty the septic tank. We are conducting awareness programmes to change the mindset,” said Sugantha Priscilla, senior specialist, City Wise Inclusive Sanitation, Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS), Tiruchi.
More could be done to improve the existing infrastructure, said the activists. “Toilets are now commonly seen in slum settlements, but they are not supported by adequate drainage or maintenance. Toilets should be set in a clean environment if we really want to enforce an ODF culture,” said S. Damodaran, founder of sanitation NGO Gramalaya.
