Urban News

The Hindu 09.01.2010

Lack of public toilets an issue in Oulgaret Municipality

Priti Narayan

PUDUCHERRY: The lack of public toilets is a cause for concern in the Oulgaret Municipality. Slum-dwellers in some areas such as Sivagami Nagar and Avvai Nagar have no easy access to public conveniences and are forced to travel long distances to reach the nearest community toilet or defecating in the open.

Recently, residents of Samipillai Thottam also appealed to the municipality for the construction of a public toilet in the area, but officials said that owing to lack of space and funds, they are unable to do so.

The Oulgaret Municipality, with a population of around 2.1 lakh, has 58 public toilets, each of which has three to six seats for men and women each. The most recent facility was built at Kottupalayam around four months ago. Officials estimate that about 20 per cent of the municipality’s population needs access to public toilets. Even by a modest estimate of 30 to 50 persons per seat as requirement as per the Puducherry Town Development Plan 2007, there is a gross inadequacy of sanitation facilities within the municipality limits.

According to officials, maintenance of these few existing public conveniences is usually given to self-help groups and area-level associations. These groups are given an honorarium of Rs.1,000 a month, while the municipality takes care of faulty water connections, motors, and so on. But despite this, many of the facilities are poorly maintained.

If the respective ward members and MLAs approach the municipality for construction of public conveniences in their areas, the municipality caters for their demands, officials say. Often, lack of space is a hindering factor. Many slums are in fact, encroachments on ‘poramboke’ land, and too many people are crammed into a small area, making it impossible to build a facility, they claim.

Common toilets often become “no man’s property,” says an official of the Town and Country Planning Department. Even the government recommends building separate toilets for each house allotted by the Slum Clearance Board. These are perhaps reasons why there are not enough public toilets. Only if maintenance is taken up properly, will public toilets survive, the official says.

The Hindu 08.01.2010

Novel way to spread awareness on social issues

K.N. Murali Sankar

Photo: Ch. Vijaya Bhaskar

Hi! Folks: The Burrakatha troupe performing on road safety at a meeting organised by the Krishna District Lorry Owners’ Association in Vijayawada recently. —

VIJAYAWADA: The traditional art form has always helped them convey the intended message to the targeted audience.

Seven families residing at Kedareswarapet in the city are known for their effective presentation of Burrakatha in Krishna and Guntur districts. Be it the popular and dramatic ‘Palnati Yuddham’ or the story of ‘Veerabhimanyu’ that evokes sympathy for the young warrior in Mahabharatha, these families always won accolades till a couple of decades ago.

But the present generation of these families is continuing the legacy in a different way. Though they still use Burrakatha to eke out a livelihood, the stories chosen for narration are no longer historical and mythological. One can hear them giving valuable information about various welfare schemes launched by the government, the need for taking precautions to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, family planning, need for reducing wastage of resources like water and the steps to be taken by the road users to reduce accidents.

“It can be any subject, and we will come out with a suitable performance in a day or two after collecting the required information,” says Miriyala Gangadhar, one of the artistes who heads four troupes of five members each.

A lot of work obviously goes into the making of a Burrakatha performance. “We keep in mind the message to be driven home to the public and transform the data given to us into a story laced with comedy and sentiment. We mix street play with the traditional form of Burrakatha to attract the public,” explains Gangadhar, the 33-year-old artiste who learnt the art from his father Pulla Rao in childhood.

“We all are related to each other and share the work amongst ourselves. Though we don’t have any formal education, we feel we have the blessings of goddess Saraswathi. That is why we are able to perform in front of many people, including Ministers and officials,” says Gangadhar.

Each troupe consists of four male artistes and a female artiste, with a duration of each performance ranging between an hour and two hours. “We get the same kind of response in urban and rural areas. We got accolades from many higher officials too,” he says with a sense of pride.

But the task is not always easy, especially when the troupe with a lady member has to talk about sensitive issues like the need to use condoms for family planning and to prevent HIV/AIDS. “It is inevitable,” says Nageswara Rao, Gangadhar’s paternal uncle.

Golden period

The troupes describe the days when the State government implemented ‘Janmabhoomi’ programme until March 2009 as a “golden period,” as the officials used Burrakatha to spread the message in villages. Offers from the government are now few and far between.

“Officials say there is no budget for awareness campaigns. We have very limited contracts in our hands now. We hope the situation will improve very soon,” Mr. Gangadhar says optimistically.