One is sure to miss the two child care centres at the banana shandy ( vazhakkai mandi ) on Thadagam Road, for they are in poorly maintained, nondescript buildings.
The first and the bigger of the two, Centre Number 49, is in a building that is at least three feet below the ground level. A portion of its wall on the northern side is damaged, thanks to lorry drivers who find it difficult to negotiate the turn to enter the shandy.
Not only the wall but the asbestos sheets that make the roof are also damaged. Sources there say that the blame for the damaged roof also lies with the drivers.
The damaged wall and roof and the building condition make it vulnerable to rains. The sources say that after every good rain, the 20-odd children are moved to the neighbouring centre, which is just a stone's throw away. The children remain there for a week before returning to their centre.
Monsoon woes
During monsoon it is worse. The children can hardly set foot in to the centre because the water stagnates for over two feet for nearly a month. And that is not just rain water. It is water from the road, the abutting drain and also the shandy, the sources say.
And when the children move to the other centre, Centre Number 50 with 15 children, it gets too crowded. There is hardly space for the children to move, the sources say. This has been the condition of the centres for close a decade now.
No water supply
Aside from the damaged buildings and shortage of space, none of the two centres has water connection.
The Centre Number 49 had water connection but the supply was stopped years ago. The Centre Number 50 does not have a connection at all.
In the absence of water supply, the children's caretakers, all Integrated Child Development Scheme staff, are forced to compete for water with residents on the other side of the road.
The two buildings that house the two centres belong to the Corporation, which is yet to initiate action to strengthen the buildings or provide a new one, says Ward 24 Councillor K. Rangaraj. The then Coimbatore Municipality constructed the buildings during MGR's rule.
The Corporation should provide one or two new buildings to accommodate the ICDS centre and ensure that the children get proper facilities.
He suggests that the Corporation's solution should be in such a way that the dust and waste from the banana shandy do not affect the children.
Sources in the Corporation say that they are working on providing new buildings to accommodate the two centres.
