Litigants suffer from lack of toilet at court complex

Public toilet built from MP fund remains locked

The Public toilet locked at District court complex in Tiruchi on Wednesday. Photo:M. Moorthy

Absence of public toilets on the District Court campus has been a major irritant for litigants.

Litigants who spend the entire day at the court, suffer for want of basic amenities. While men resort to defecating in the open, it is women who are the most inconvenienced.

A public toilet remains locked. The toilet was constructed at a cost of Rs.4.9 lakh by L.Ganesan, former MP from his constituency development fund.

Advocates said that the present ‘sorry state of affairs' has been prevailing for the last two years.

“There are a few restrooms inside the bar association, but they fail to meet the needs of lawyers,” said an advocate. Another perennial problem is the shortage of water supply, say advocates noting that representations to the city corporation has not evoked any response.

Expressing hope that the combined court complex under construction would solve some of the woes, a lady advocate said pregnant women visiting the court faced the brunt of the problem.

Women litigants who approach advocates are allowed to use the staff toilets on humanitarian grounds. Staff toilets at the Legal Authority Services centre are also let to the public for the same reasons, she said.