Deccan Chronicle 19.11.2009

Coin-operated urinals soon

Chennai, Nov. 18: Top civic officials from Chennai Corporation will visit Delhi, next week, to study the feasibility of introducing automatic coin operated urinals in the city. These eco-friendly urinals, which use less water, are already a hit in the national capital. This low maintenance facility, if approved by the corporation council, will be placed in busy areas like markets and shopping complexes according to corporation commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni.

Preliminary enquiries have revealed that coin-operated toilets are easy to maintain and the input costs are also low. These urinals helped the Delhi corporation effectively curb the stench emanating from public toilets. The civic team led by chief engineer along with an executive engineer will examine the cost factor and benefits of introducing a similar facility in the city. However, Mr Lakhoni admitted that the proposal is still in its preliminary stage.

According to corporation sources, there is a shortage of urinals in Chennai. The city has only 750 toilets, 498 of which function as pay and use facilities. The corporation had also proposed to construct new toilets along the Marina beach as part of its beach beautification project.It may be noted that the corporation’s earlier proposal of constructing high-end toilets and footpaths with escalators on design-build-operate-transfer basis has hit a speed breaker. The civic body initially planned to hand over these structures to private firms so that the company could generate revenue through advertisement rights. However, these plans were put on hold as the state government banned hoardings and large posters.