Chennai: The Marina beach, which attracts a huge number of tourists, has failed to keep its toilets in check. Broken flush, taps and doors welcome visitors and the rooms are leaking with broken pipes. Lacking in maintenance, the toilets reek of foul smell making it uncomfortable for people to use the ‘free’ toilets along the beach stretch. A total of four people is allotted to maintain one complex that operates in shifts, two in the morning and two in the afternoon.
“Every month we are given two bottles of phenol and two bottles of acid to clean the toilets. We have to buy new ones from our money if they get over,” said one of the maintenance workers. He added that the authorities are yet to appoint a woman maintenance worker for the afternoon shift to maintain the ladies toilet and until then he has to wash the ladies toilet.
One of the visitors said. “The toilets were well maintained before the jallikattu protest, but since then it has been in bad shape”. The ladies toilets also have been badly maintained, complained ladies. They said that they could not use it due to the stench. The toilet next to the swimming pool is one of the worst maintained. People who visit the beach, wash the sand off their feet and the toilet has sand all over the place. There was hardly anyone from the maintenance around the toilet and looked like it lacked anyone maintaining them. The toilet cubicle near the swimming pool has no users, as the door is broken.
When authorities were contacted, they promised to look into the issue immediately, however, they have not addressed the issue yet. The maintenance workers said that they report the issue to the supervisor. However, no action has been taken to ensure proper maintenance of the toilets.
