Toilets and Urinals

Toilet under the open sky for 73% of rural India

The Planning commission has found that 73% of rural India practices open defecation despite many sanitation programmes encouraged by the government. The main reason for this is the unavailability of toilets.

Sanitation is a familiar term but is often misunderstood to mean the building and using of toilets but this isn’t true. It covers a whole range of thought and action both pre and post latrine use, which includes cleanliness, personal hygiene and the safe disposal of the urine and faeces.

The failure to heed to one’s conscience results in the sense of shame, because one feels one’s personal worth has been lessened. The present situation in country where there are more than many examples where act of people are groups can severely traumatize people and victimize people.

WASH is essential for the all-round well-being of all children, especially girls.

Statistics that will shock you!

9% of schools in rural Chhattisgarh do not have drinking water and 40% schools do not have toilets. Even the schools that have both drinking water and toilets are not fully functional, with only 71% and 22% respectively working.

UNICEF recently conducted a workshop in Raipur to highlight the importance of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in schools. WASH is essential for the all-round well-being of all children, especially girls. 

Mrs Reena Kangale, Mission Director, Sarva Sikhsha Abhiyan, Chhattisgarh during inaugural address

Photo Courtesy: UNICEF Chhattisgarh

Uday Shankar from water.org welcomed the audience and introduced the issue of access to safe water and sanitation. Gary White, water.org, set the tone of the seminar by explaining his organisation’s vision of ‘getting safe water’ for everyone.

The report is divided into the following sections:

A close examination of these two issues shows that the water and sewage challenge is already grave and could get worse. With this as the backdrop, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a public interest research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi, organised a two day conference called the Anil Agarwal Dialogue on “Excreta does matter”. The conference took place at the Jacaranda Hall, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi on 4 and 5 March 2013.

The dialogue aimed at furthering the agenda of CSE’s seventh State of India’s Environment report titled Excreta Matters. This report is a comprehensive survey of the situation of water and wastewater management in 71 Indian cities. The study found that most cities lack a basic policy direction on how best to tackle issues of demand, supply and treatment of water, and of management of sewage. 

The Dialogue being the first of its kind brought together a wide range of professionals, activists, practitioners, policy makers, academicians, researchers and administrators from the water sector. The event was aimed at drawing attention on the critical issues of how cities will get affordable and sustainable water and waste systems that can supply to all and take back and treat the sewage of all.