City lacks sanitation, says study

CHENNAI: In the belief that local councillor elections had provided a good opportunity for citizens’ voices to be heard, Transparent Chennai conducted a ward-based, citizen-driven intervention that created information about the state of public sanitation, the walkability in the pedestrian environment, and the extent and spatial concentration of surface garbage in Ward 176 of the City Corporation.The study notes that only two of the 11 public toilets in the area under study were deemed useful by the public. In certain areas like Urur Kuppam, toilets damaged in the 2004 Tsunami have never been reconstructed or repaired.Posh areas of the city, including Shastri Nagar, Adyar DD Road, Ramasamy Garden and Besant Avenue, were identified as areas lacking basic sanitation facilities. Lack of proper lighting facilities was identified as one of the major problems affecting the use of public sanitation facilities. In the study of walkability and usability of footpaths for pedestrians, only three of the 20 roads in the area met more than 70 per cent of the parameters. First Avenue Road in Ward 176 was considered as the worst road in terms of safety, according to the study. The ward fared equally poor in waste management practices. For instance, more than 40 of the 111 dumpsters kept in the ward were damaged and rendered unusable. Forty-six roads in the ward did not have any dumpsters, the study revealed.“Besant Nagar Seventh Avenue, which is a long road, desperately needs the attention of civic authorities due to the presence of nine small, 17 medium and 12 large trash sites,” says Sidharth Hande of Transparent Chennai. “Ramasamy Avenue, which is a small road, is also in need of attention due to the presence of two small, four medium, 10 large trash areas and seven trash areas of influence.”Transparent Chennai conducted the study in association with the Ethiraj College, Madras Christian College, Centre for Environmental Education, Institute of Transportation and Development Policy, Rotaract Club of Madras, Concern Awareness and Responsibility for the Environment, Reclaim Our Beaches and The Madras School of Social Work.