The sanitation infrastructure at the tsunami rehabilitation colonies in Nagapattinam district has crumbled, apparently due to poor quality of construction, leaving the residents in despair.
The residents find themselves left high and dry without any scope to revive their defunct toilets that are now being utilised more for junk disposal, since they are ineligible for receiving the subsidy of ₹12,000 meant for construction of individual toilets in households. The reason: they had already been provided with in-built toilets in the houses given free of cost.
Leave alone the impossibility for Nagapattinam administration to get the district declared as ‘open-defecation free’ for years to come, as things stand, the residents in the rehabilitation localities at Vyasar Nagar near Keechankuppam, Sellur, Akkaraipettai, and Pazhayar are unable to evade the inevitability of defecating in the open.
Among the affected residents forced into open defecation in bushes and beaches are several hundreds of grown-up school and college-going girls shedding dignity and self-respect.
The relief of residents over being provided with the houses constructed by scores of non-Government organisations, after two long years of stay in temporary shelters in schools, community halls, and marriage halls, was short-lived.
With the Coastal Regulation Act in place, the district administration could provide only those land areas that were at a distance of two to three km away from the shores to the NGOs for construction of permanent houses.
Having to settle down away from the sea was in itself an ordeal for the fishermen as they could not safeguard their boats and fishing gear. Little did they know then that there were greater difficulties in store in their houses constructed in low-lying areas.
Come rainy season, water stagnates for months around these houses, bringing sanitation to naught. “We had to close the sink and use the toilet as a store room as the stink caused by the reverse flow of sewerage became unbearable,” said Suresh, a resident of Sellur.
"World over, construction of such single leach pit toilets that gets filled within a few months is never advised in coastal areas where water table is high. The toilets only function as collection tanks and during rainy season the toilet seat fills up with reverse flow,” V. Ganapathy, sanitation expert and advisor, Tiruchi District Exnora, said.
Only a handful of families with financial wherewithal have converted their leach pit toilets into septic tank toilets. But then, they are required to shell out tidy amounts to clean up the septic tanks at least twice a year.
Due to the constant stagnation perpetuated by poor run-off, the entire buildings have gone weak. Leakage in walls and ceilings are all too common, and the doors are falling apart. And adding to their woes is poor drinking water availability.
