Besides “ladies” and “gents”, public lavatories in Chennai may soon offer a third option — for transgenders. The Chennai Municipal Corporation has set aside Rs 45 lakh for a pilot project to build three such lavatories for transgenders in the city.

While the construction is expected to begin after the polls, the officials have already identified areas with a considerable transgender population in south and central Chennai. The first will be built in Saidapet, where it will cater to those living in Kothamedu, Theedeer Nagar and Athuma Nagar.

Each lavatory, with both male and female urinals for those who have undergone sex change as well as those who are yet to do so, is estimated to cost about Rs 12-15 lakh. Muncipal Commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni said that more such toilets would be built, depending on the response.

For the moment, the response has been rather mixed. While there are some who have welcomed the move, many feel that it would lead to more isolation of the transgender community.

“I don’t agree with this. We want to mingle with the mainstream. We don’t want to be separated like this,” said Aasha Bharathi, president of the Tamil Nadu Aravanigal Association. “Using separate toilets will open the way for discrimination. We want to be considered as females. In our hearts, we are women.”

But Lakhoni countered that the move was aimed at “extending recognition to the community and mainstreaming them”. Pointing out that the scheme was announced in the budget last month, he said a survey revealed that 99 per cent of the respondents did not want to use the same toilets as transgenders.

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