Central station lacks drinking water facility

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The historic Chennai Central, the hub of the Southern Railways since 1873, today is a shadow of its former self. While the restrooms and the pay-and-use toilets are filthy, passengers complain about the lack of adequate drinking water facilities that force them to buy bottled water.

The station, which has a footfall of 3.5 lakh passengers per day, reeks of the Railway authorities’ indifferent attitude towards the growing needs of passengers. Activists point out that basic needs are not taken care of and passengers have to deal with malfunctioning water filters and broken taps at the platforms. The toilet to passenger ratio is not met either; there are just four toilets at the station, say Railways officials.

Passengers also complain about the lack of seats, forcing them to occupy the floors to rest.
Women passengers suffer a great deal because of the poor maintenance of toilets. “The toilets in the station stink; quite often the stalls are flooded and the basins are full of rubbish. Despite a fee being collected from passengers who use the toilets, they are not cleaned regularly,” said E. Alamelu, a passenger.