The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Madurai News : Unclean conditions on court premises bared

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 08, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Madurai

Unclean conditions on court premises bared

Mohamed Imranullah S.

Students conduct study; submit findings

It focuses on unclean toilets, open defecation
Corridors awash with used plastic bags and cups

— Photo: K. Ganesan

The muck stops here: District Court complex in Madurai has almost become a garbage dump for nearby commercial establishments.

MADURAI: The District Court campus here does not maintain proper hygiene and adequate sanitary conditions, according to a study conducted by a group of students pursuing their postgraduation in social work.

The study has brought to light the obnoxious state of toilets, people urinating in the open, rainwater stagnation on the premises, corridors littered with used plastic bags and cups and lack of drinking water facilities — much to the inconvenience of hundreds of litigants and lawyers visiting the court every day.

It was jointly conducted by students of Madurai Institute of Social Sciences, Fatima College and Mannar Tirumalai Naicker College as part of their academic field work programme under the guidance of Society for Community Organisation (SOCO) Trust, a non-governmental organisation here.

The students, led by C. Sekar of Mannar Tirumalai Naicker College, visited the Madras High Court Bench on Thursday to submit a report of their study to Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah. “We have given the report to the office of the Chief Justice and hope that he would initiate necessary action and implement the suggestions made by us,” the team leader said.

The report said that out of four toilets earmarked for visitors in the district court campus, two were under lock and key. The men’s toilet did not have clean water, buckets, mugs and even individual doors. The flush tank in the women’s toilet was clogged with waste paper and rubbish. “Human faeces are found everywhere. There are no taps and dust bins. The floor was also dirty,” it read.

There are eight toilets, five for men and the rest for women, exclusively used by advocates and the court staff. In the second floor of the court buildings, women had no choice but to use the toilet meant for men.

“The sanitary and environmental conditions of the district court complex leave much to be desired,” the report said.

Solution

It was suggested that more toilets should be constructed, the available ones thrown open and all of them must be cleaned daily. Adequate number of dust bins should be placed on the campus besides filling up the low-lying open spaces with debris to avoid water stagnation. Drinking water tank facility should also be provided at every corner of the court, the students stressed.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu