Nestled along the Beach-Tambaram Railway line, Kamarajar Nagar, one of Tirusulam’s biggest slum pocket has over 500 households, but sadly not even a single toilet until a few months ago. Thanks to the efforts of the Pallavaram Municipality, the slum now has one that rivals public toilets in foreign countries in terms of technology — the suburb’s first operational ‘Namma Toilet’.

In the few months that the toilet is operative, it has found patronage among residents to the level that today an average of 300 to 400 people use the six cabin toilets in Kamarajar Nagar’s Nehru Street on a daily basis.

While the pan Tamil Nadu Namma Toilet Scheme has been gaining pace across various municipalities, which are completely devoid of public toilets, the one in Kamarajar Nagar, according to Pallavaram municipal officials, is one of the first in the city’s suburbs to be established in a slum area instead of public places such as bus stops and railway stations.

“We had conducted a community survey before installing the toilets and deduced that such slum pockets along the railway lines are at a place where open defecation is most prevalent. We have given the toilet established at a cost of `15 lakh to a firm on an O and M (operate and maintain) basis. The firm maintains it on a free use basis and users are required to register their usage. As of now, the toilets see at least 350 users a day,” informed an engineer with the Pallavaram Municipality, who is in-charge of the project.

According to the officials, a total of five such modern toilets have been planned in bus stops at Chrompet, Pallavaram, Keelkattalai and Anakaputhur, which will soon be set up.

Although the toilets have been witnessing heavy usage, the cost of maintaining them is very low, courtesy the technology, said officials.

“One of its main USP is it that it is completely solar powered. Apart from the latrines and urinals, the toilets have separate wash basins, borewell connection and lighting. In the evening hours, the lights automatically switch on when the door is opened, which helps conserve electricity,” the engineer said. Of the six cabins, three have been allotted for women, two for men and one separate cabin for persons with disabilities.

Although the number of toilets is not enough to cater to Kamarajar Nagar’s entire population, the residents seem happy with whatever is available.

“When these were first constructed, we didn’t know what they were and not many were using them. I actually thought it was some type of a machine,” said Mathivanan, who works at a tannery nearby. “But slowly almost everybody has started using them and in the evenings most of the time all cabins are occupied,” he added.

“It is very useful, but we also have acute shortage of water for regular use in this area. If they put up a tap near it with a connection to a borewell, it will be more useful,” said Moginiammal, a local resident.

With over five more such toilets planned in Pallavaram alone and many more coming up in areas such as Perungalathur and Peerkankaranai, the patronage this toilet has gained has given the project a good hope for success.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Arun Venkat – Chennai / May 07th, 2014

Thirty-year-old Karthikeyan from Udayarpalayam, Ariyalur district, had been bedridden for the past 17 years. But now, he has began taking baby steps, thanks to the efforts of doctors at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital. They say that he will start walking without any help in another one month.

When Karthikeyan was 13, he had developed a fever and joint pain that restricted his movements. He could not afford any treatment and was wheelchair bound for 17 years when a doctor in Ariyalur suggested that he approach RGGGH. Doctors here diagnosed that the man was suffering the end-stage of arthritis where his joints fused. Doctors decided to replace all major joints in his lower limbs and make him walk independently.

Under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme, the right side of his hip and knee were replaced with stents. This surgery would have otherwise cost him `2.30 lakh. To straighten his knee that was bent at 90 degrees, a pin was inserted in the lower part of the leg and a weight was suspended from it for about two weeks.

“To perform the surgery on a side of the body, Karthikeyan’s father said he would sell his plot in his village. But we found help through our dean,” said Dr Singara Vadivelu, senior orthopaedic surgeon, RGGGH. Sunil from Ungalukkaga Trust came forward to provide `1.5 lakh following a meeting with Dr V Kanagasabai, dean, MMC and RGGGH. A surgery was performed on the left side hip and knee on January 9 and the patient was made to stand with a support on January 27. “This surgery would otherwise cost a total of Rs seven or eight lakh in a private hospital. Also, the patient bore all the pain as he had the confidence and was happy that he would soon walk again,” said Dr V Kanagasabai.

Doctors said that such form of arthritis usually affected men aged between 20 and 30 years, where the joints get fused restricting movement, but Karthikeyan suffered from it at an early age. “My father has become very old. I want to lead an independent life. Doctors have told me they would also perform surgeries on my wrist elbow. Even physiotherapy treatment is painful but I am confident I’ll become normal soon,” said Karthikeyan.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service – Chennai / February 01st, 2014