The Hindu              11.12.2013 

‘Namma Toilet’ at Peerkankaranai provides relief for commuters

In an attempt to provide access to hygienic sanitation facilities to thousands of commuters boarding long-distance buses, a ‘Namma Toilet’ has been launched at Peerkankaranai.

A result of an approach to eradicate open defecation in urban Tamil Nadu, the universal design of Namma Toilet, launched in Tambaram and a few other urban pockets in the State has, according to government officials, changed the way people viewed and approached public toilets.

The Namma Toilet has been built at a cost of Rs. 6.8 lakh from the funds of Peerkankaranai Town Panchayat, its Chairman A.V. Sampath Kumar said. The free facility has been built at the northern end of the bus terminus at Peerkankaranai.

However, problems in Peerkankaranai are far from over as there are no public conveniences on the other side of Grand Southern Trunk Road, towards Chennai.

It causes immense problems for commuters arriving at Peerkankaranai, who have to either switch over to suburban trains or city buses.

Commuters who are aware of the location of a free toilet have to cross the arterial road — a risky affair in the morning and evening rush hours. The existing toilet at Perungalathur railway station has slipped into disuse and, hence, there is no relief for commuters who reach here after travelling long distance journeys overnight, pointed out R.A. Mukunthan of Perungalathur – Paranur Rail Commuters Association.

Mr. Sampath Kumar conceded that they were flooded with requests from activists as well as commuters about the need for a similar facility on the direction towards Chennai. “The gap between the railway lines and GST Road is the narrowest at Peerkankaranai. As of now, it is not possible to construct even a mobile toilet, owing to technical problems, but we are still exploring options,” he added.

A staffer at the Commissioner of Town Panchayats said the facility at Peerkankaranai was the first in Kancheepuram District and plans were on to launch a similar one in Mamallapuram. The Department of Municipal Administration and Water Supply has plans to extend Namma Toilet to more than 130 spots in municipalities and corporations across the State.

The Hindu              11.12.2013 

State Govt. urged to improve infrastructure in Coimbatore

Union Development Ministry has asked the State Government to improve the infrastructure facilities in Coimbatore as the city has been rated ahead of Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Kolkota, Noida, Gurgoan and many other cities as a business destination, in a survey by Global Initiative for Restructuring Environment and Management (GIREM).

The survey, quoted by the Ministry of Urban Development, has said that the city had scored 119.84 out of 160 points and performed well on water index, human capital, availability of helping hands and its ability to attract talent.

Parameters

The parameters the GIREM had chosen are human capital, energy, water, mobility or transport, environment, health and safety, schools and colleges, housing, healthcare, ability to attract talent, climate, office space availability, malls and multiplexes, helping hand availability, infrastructure for helping hand, city culture and getaways.

The MoUD has used the survey findings to ask the State Government to capitalise on the achievements and improve on areas where the cities are found wanting.

In his letter, Sudhir Krishna, Secretary, Urban Development, has asked secretaries of state governments to use the various policies and schemes steered by the Ministry such as the urban and regional development, planning formulation and implementation guidelines and guidelines for sustainable urban infrastructure to improve the cities ranking on other parameters.

Other cities

He has also asked the states’ secretaries to encourage other cities to follow the same and improve their rankings as preferred business destinations.

Sources in the Coimbatore Corporation said that they would work on bettering office space availability, facilitating creation of malls and providing infrastructure for the helping hands — areas where the city had scored below average.

The survey has found energy and mobility services to be poor in the city and suggested that unless there were improvements on those two fronts, the city would find it difficult to sustain its position among the top 10 business destinations in the Country.

Higher rank

The cities that have fared better than Coimbatore are Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, Indore and Bhubaneshwar. Bangalore has scored 129.56 and Chennai 127.84.

Coimbatore Corporation officials say they will work on bettering office space availability.