The unsung heroes of Mumbai

The 30,000-strong conservancy workers of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation truly are the unsung heroes of Mumbai

Ignored by the entire city and the administration for most part, the 30,000 strong conservancy workforce clears out close to 6,500 tonnes of garbage on a daily basis. Sudharak Olwe’s work titled ‘In Search of Dignity and Justice’ captures the harsh everyday realities of the invisible lot.

The dream of a ‘Swachh Bharat’ cannot be realized in isolation: Need for good health must be prioritized

While Neglected Tropical Diseases like dengue and leishmaniases might not be fatal in most cases, the overall disability caused due to them cannot be discounted. Proper sanitation and personal hygiene play an important role in keeping a check on the spread of diseases and are inextricably linked to the overall good health of the population.

The collective neglect of social hygiene continues to disease India: Swachh Bharat could usher in a new beginning

In a country teeming with billions, lack of access to safe drinking water and poor sanitation top the list of reasons behind the spread of many illnesses. Lack of proper sanitation is behind one in every 10 deaths recorded in the country. The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan presents an excellent opportunity to integrate sanitation with the overall public health objectives.

Kitchen waste to be converted into electricity on a pilot basis in one of Chennai's bio-methanation plants

Kitchen and household organic waste could soon be used to generate electricity in Avadi, a suburb located to the North of Chennai. The primary raw material for the biomethanation plant nearby includes the kitchen waste generated by the households in the Municipality daily, which comes close to 10 tonnes. Around 450 kilowatt of electricity is expected to be generated for every 5 tonnes of organic input.

Bio sewage treatment plant to come up at Sabarimala in a bid to keep River Pamba cleaner

In a bid to keep the sacred Pamba clean, a modern biological Sewage Treatment Plant has been planned at the Sabarimala Sannidhanam. The Rs.21.7-crore plant set up on the basis of a 2013 Kerala High Court order is ready to be commissioned on October 19, 2015.

Concerns of pollution, purity and the long term ‘Swachh’ agenda

The abstract notion of purity and the pollution of this construct by the presence of pit toilets near one’s dwellings are cited as the main reasons for the failure of the successive toilet building campaigns. Unless this is broken, it is very difficult to get people to switch over from defecating in the open to the confines of a toilet. Dramatic and brutal thrusts need to be employed to enable the switch as soon as possible.

This is a roundup of important sanitation related news between October 4 and 10, 2015

Lead Image Courtesy: Sudharak Olwe, Quartz India