2025: A loo story

Forget about Chennai's historical landmarks and age-old architecture for a bit this summer as Greater Chennai Corporation presents its latest walking tour — of the city's public restrooms.

Stroll through the toilets as psychologists decode the vandalism that covers the walls — what do those hand-drawn flowers symbolise or that random message about a certain gent being in love with a certain lady? And of course, the psychology of that intricately graphic genital art.

GCC, in collaboration with WASHlab, an initiative focused on improving sanitation practices in Chennai, will launch the third edition of its International Toilet Festival 2025 in June. The month-long event, which besides mapping the city's open defecation spots and holding discussions on how sanitation workers can be empowered, will also have speakers from diverse sectors discuss challenges in keeping the city clean.

"We are planning toilet walks on vandalism, dirtology and toilet shame," says Meenakshi Meera, urban designer and researcher at WASHlab. "The toilet dirtology walk for example will highlight the nature of dirt, stains and waste found in public toilets."

With this festival being a timely reminder of what the govt can do in terms of bettering the lives of sanitation workers and bringing policy changes, GCC commissioner J Kumaragurubaran says WASHlab conducts sanitation audits for the corporation and highlights areas that need to be improved.

"We are planning a series of initiatives such as onboarding Co-optex to make uniforms for our sanitation workers, ensure more PPE kits are made available to them, provide changing rooms and ensure they are members of the Sanitary Workers Welfare Board," he says.

GCC has given out the welfare board membership cards to more than 5,000 people through which sanitary workers can avail benefits such as accident and distress relief. "GCC is planning awareness drives to get more workers to enrol in the welfare board," says Kumaragurubaran.

While contract and GCC sanitation workers have benefits to some extent, at the bottom of this socially ostracised profession are informal sanitation workers working in the private sector, says Sugantha Priscilla, senior specialist at the Tamil Nadu Urban Sanitation Support Programme (TNUSSP). Sanitation workers working at schools, malls and restaurants do not have official acknowledgement of their employment or insurance benefits.

"They do everything from cleaning the septic tanks to even cleaning after children in special needs schools, and their salary is a meagre Rs 5,000. The govt needs to ensure they are registered in the sanitation welfare board," says Priscilla.