The Hindu 18.12.2013
GH to seek civic body support for green toilets
Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital authorities
will soon send a request to Chennai Corporation for green toilets on its
premises.
Soon after the launch of Amma Canteen at the hospital, the toilets near it were shut down citing maintenance of hygiene.
On
Tuesday, a number of outpatients and attendants of patients were
inconvenienced as the only other set of functional public toilets on the
campus was also closed. According to sanitary workers, there was no
water to clean the men’s and women’s toilets near the south-western side
of the campus.
A sanitary worker said, “People have
defecated along the pathway inside the toilet and as water supply is
erratic, we could not clean them.”
With people seen
relieving themselves near dustbins, a strong stench pervaded the
premises. A woman patient who had come from Kalpakkam for a review at
the oncology department said, “I have been trying to locate a toilet on
the campus but there are none. I cannot use the toilets in the ward
either.”
The police attached to the hospital have
complained to hospital authorities about the nuisance. “People defecate
in the open, making it difficult for us to sit in our office,” said an
inspector.
Daily, around 10,000 patients visit the hospital for outpatient services. They are accompanied by attendants.
“We
may need 15 toilets each for men and women. We are sending a proposal
to the Mayor and the Corporation commissioner,” dean V. Kanagasabai
said. The hospital has also decided to install another borewell.