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.