Sanitation

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November 17, 2023
Unmasking gender disparities in Indian sanitation
Women's struggle for sanitation equity in rural areas and urban slums India
A training exercise on water and sanitation, as part of an EU-funded project on integrated water resource management in Rajasthan. (Image: UN Women Asia and Pacific; CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED)
October 20, 2023
Building community expertise in planning, designing, and overseeing WASH systems
A holistic approach to Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) initiatives
Shantilata uses a cloth to filter out the high iron content in the salty water, filled from a hand pump, in the village Sitapur on the outskirts of Bhadrak, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha (Image: WaterAid/ Anindito Mukherjee)
July 12, 2023
Saamuhika Shakti: Empowering Bangalore waste pickers to live dignified lives
A collective impact effort, the first of its type in India that provides informal waste pickers a chance to live safe and dignified lives, with particular emphasis on gender and equity.
Waste pickers and sorters working hard to extract recyclable value from the waste we throw out (Image: Vinod Sebastian/ Saamuhika Shakti)
February 7, 2023
Budget 2023-24: Drinking water supply and sanitation continues to get priority
Budgetary allocations for urban sanitation get an impetus, but Swachh Bharat Mission – Rural (SBM-R) records no change in its budgetary allocation
An amount of Rs 1840 crore has been approved to effecvely implement Water Security Plans through convergence of ongoing/new schemes (Image: Pavitra K B Rao, Wikimedia Commons)
December 13, 2022
Mobilising communities for WASH
WaterAid India’s partnership with USAID and Gap Inc. benefits 2400 villages across 7 districts of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra
WaterAid has focused on establishing community-led water quality monitoring & surveillance (Image: Anil Gulati/India Water Portal Flickr)
September 27, 2022
Dirty drains drain health
This study found that the sanitary quality of neighbourhood drains, in addition to toilets, affected sanitation and hygiene and incidences of ill-health in rural households.
Dirty drainages, harbingers of illhealth. Image for representation only (Image Source: SuSanA Secretariat via Wikimedia Commons)
Water quality status of historical Gundolav lake, Kishangarh - South Asian Journal of Tourism and Heritage
Posted on 22 Nov, 2014 10:30 AM

Gundolav Lake RajasthanThis paper published in the South Asian Journal of Tourism and Heritage describes the water quality status of Gundolav Lake in Rajasthan, which was once used for drinking water as well as for recreational activities under the tutelage of the princely state of Kishangarh. This has now become a site of wastewater disposal and facing a critical threat for its sustenance. 

Recent years have led to an increasing awareness of the importance of water bodies and  the need for conservation of water bodies, especially freshwater wetlands. The Ramsar Convention (2002) identifies wetlands as the starting point for integrated water management strategies. This is because they are the source of fresh water, maintain the health of the water course and water bodies, have the capacity to supply water to meet the human needs and are a key to future water security.

Seven Steps to Hygiene- An educational booklet by Utthan
Posted on 22 Nov, 2014 10:30 AM

BookletThis document is an educational booklet on sanitation and hygiene published by Utthan, which works towards empowering women's groups to seek clean and adequate quality of water for all.

The booklet includes the details of seven steps that can be undertaken to attain sanitation and hygiene. The details have been explained in a manner that is simple and understandable and includes illustrations that are self explanatory and easy to follow.

The seven steps include:

  1. Use and protection of water sources
  2. Managing drinking water
UN General Assembly's resolution on water and sanitation as a human right
Posted on 22 Nov, 2014 10:30 AM

The recent UN General Assembly Resolution on declaring water and sanitation as human right is or can be a powerful impetus to securing universal access to water and sanitation for people everywhere. This is the most recent in a string of initiatives to advance the provision of these essential services. Beginning with the UN Decade of Water in the eighties, then the declaration of the Millennium Development Goals, and later the adoption of General Statement 15 by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations in 2002 the recognition of the fundamental importance of water (and more recently sanitation) to life, health and well being has been accepted at the international level. In India, while there is no specific mention of the right to water in the Constitution, the Supreme Court in its judgement(s)has upheld this as part of the right to life. Some organizations are working to make this a fundamental right, to remove any ambiguity.

Child drinking water - Madhya Pradesh

Boy drinking water from handpump in Guna, Madhya Pradesh - Handpumps and wells are still one of the major source of drinking water in India.

Photo credits: Anil Gulati 

Floods drinking water contamination mining and waterbodies water bills water conflicts News roundup 17 August 2010
Posted on 22 Nov, 2014 10:30 AM

Floods: lessons to be learnt from the massive flooding in Surat city

A report by IIM criticises the way in which dams are managed in the country and calls for the need to apply Management Science / Operations Research techniques and information technology to improve dam management and prevention of floods

Flood fury: are we ready to face such an event?

Status of urban water supply sanitation and solid waste management CPHEEO data 2005
Posted on 22 Nov, 2014 10:30 AM

This link on the Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation (CPHEEO) website, presents data related to the status of the urban water, sanitation and solid waste management in India. The data includes information on:

  • Status of water supply (physical)
  • Status of urban water supply (financial)
  • Status of urban sewerage/sanitation system
  • Status of low cost sanitation
  • Status of solid waste management

Data is included from different states in India namely Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Pondicherry, Sikkim and Tamilnadu respectively.

Deaths due to water pollution
Posted on 22 Nov, 2014 10:30 AM

Deaths due to water pollution occur mainly as a consequence of drinking of contaminated water. The common diseases caused by consumption of contaminated water are Cholera, Viral Hepatitis, Enteric Fever (Typhoid) and Acute Diarrhoeal Diseases (ADD).
 
The number of deaths reported State-wise on account of Cholera, Viral Hepatitis, Enteric Fever (Typhoid) and Acute Diarrhoeal Diseases (ADD) for the years 2007, 2008 and 2009 are given in      Annexure – I-III.  

India WASH forum enewsletter Update 13 July 2010
Posted on 22 Nov, 2014 10:30 AM

Water Sanitation Hygiene

We see this newsletter as a platform for independent credible voice in the water and sanitation sector. Our emphasis is on bringing together critical news and information with analysis. In this issue we share news and analysis on topical issues and developments.

The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation(DDWS) has simultaneously invited inputs to Discussion Papers on Drinking Water and Sanitation, circulated on Solution Exchange. Inputs given by India WASH Forum, on this, is enclosed in this Update. We have pointed out the missing elements of sanitation improvement strategy that include, criticality of providing water as an inseparable component to household sanitation, the tendency to see behavior change as a lifestyle issue and not linked to the hardware components, peoples livelihoods and living conditions. Suggestions for what needs to be done to strengthen the implementation mechanism of the flagship sanitation programme(TSC) and partnerships.

Step by step Achieving sustainable sanitation : Lessons from civil society experiences A report by Arghyam
Posted on 22 Nov, 2014 10:30 AM

Several concerns were raised during the discussions on the the manner in which the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) was being implemented, followed by identification of steps that were needed to ensure social, technical, institutional, financial and environmental sustainability of the programme.

The discussions revealed that:

  • The TSC indeed led to the mainstreaming of sanitation in India. However, more emphasis was placed on hardware targets, while social mobilisation had been largely ignored. Thus, inspite of increase in the coverage of toilets, their usage and sustainability had remained low.
5th Global YES Summit Rework The World A trip report
Posted on 22 Nov, 2014 10:30 AM

Had the opportunity to attend a recent worldwide gathering on the topic of youth and social entrepreneurship, which gave much food for thought. The event was the 5th Global YES Summit, entitled “ReWork The World”.  Details of the gathering are at www.reworktheworld.org . The message there  was that we need to do something radical in order to find productive work for the vast numbers of youth coming into the workforce especially in developing nations. The new jobs cannot be of the old variety, they need to be green, sustainable jobs. In other words, we need to ‘rework the world’.  The conference was based on the premise that these new jobs will come out of social entrepreneurship.

Droplets Monthly eNewsletter July 10
Posted on 22 Nov, 2014 10:30 AM

Droplets newsletter

Highlights

  • India: World Bank Aid of USD 372 million for Coastal Zone & Water Supply
  • India: Centre Approves National Mission on Micro Irrigation
  • Chennai: 45 New Machines to Clear Clogged Sewers
  • Stockholm Water Award 2010: Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority is the Winner
  • Grundfos: World’s Largest Pump Manufacturer by VDMA List

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