The Madras High Court Bench on Friday began repairing and refurbishing public toilets situated on its campus within hours after The Hindu carried a news report of the toilets being kept under lock and key, thereby forcing the visitors to urinate in the open.
According to court sources, the swift action was taken pursuant to the instructions of Justice V. Dhanapalan, the administrative judge of the Bench, who reportedly pulled up Public Works Department (PWD) officials for not maintaining the toilets properly and ordered their renovation on a war footing.
“We have been given an ultimatum till Tuesday evening to make sure that the toilet blocks meant for both men and women are repaired, painted and given a new look. Therefore, more than 20 workers have been deputed to do the work,” a PWD staff said.
He added that the area around the two toilet blocks would be cleared of bushes with the help of a tractor and cracks that had been developed at the bottom of the blocks filled up with mortar. Pits would be dug for draining the sewage.
A court official said the judge had also ordered redressal of grievances of court staff residing in the quarters constructed exclusively for them at Mattuthavani.
Steps had been taken to ensure that elevators in the quarters worked properly and the problem of seepage from overhead tanks was rectified.
Without licence “The elevators were installed even without obtaining licences required under the Tamil Nadu Lifts Act, 1997. It is only after the judge intervened that the licences were issued in no time. Since most of them are not in working condition, the repair work will start soon,” he added.
The Hindu had carried a news report on the poor condition of staff quarters on Monday.
