Chennai: Nearly 75,000 people have to share roughly one public toilet in Chennai. Chennai with a population of 6.5 million has only 900 public toilets. Of this only 500 are in good shape and the rest are either partially damaged, misused or dilapidated, a petition submitted in the Southern Bench of National Green Tribunal has stated. Highlighting this, S.P. Surendranath Karthik and Palani of Madipakkam have approached the Tribunal seeking direction to the Central and state government authorities to prevent open defecation and urination in Chennai.

The petitioners pointed out individuals have been using the railway line between Old Washermanpet station and Vyasarpadi Jeeva station for urination and open defecation. The entire region stinks.
Local residents use the railway lines for urination and open defecation since there were no adequate toilets in their house or the public toilets in Washermanpet area. They pointed that human defecation causes diseases such as Giardiasis, Fecal Oral Disease Transmission, Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), cryptosporidiosis and shigellosis which results in severe stomach ache and in certain cases even death.

Substantial damage has been caused to the environment resulting in creating a potential resource for various diseases which could spread across the state. Hence, they sought a direction to authorities including Central and state governments, general manager, Southern Railway, and commissioner, corporation of Chennai, to prevent open defecation and urination in Chennai. When the petition came up for hearing on Wednesday, bench comprising judicial member Justice M. Chokalingam and expert member R. Nagendran directed the officials from Southern Railway and Chennai corporation to appear before the Tribunal on March 10 to reply.