Shit! What to do about it

It is an unmentionable. But unavoidable. The problem of open defecation is not just an affront to human dignity but is a serious problem that has ominous implications for the nation’s health and yes, its economy.

          India stinks, from one corner to the other, without exception. As a country we seem to have achieved equality in this aspect. We cover our nose, avert eyes from heaps of excreta wherever we look, bemoan the lack of sanitary habits in our society and blame the government for not doing anything about it. But we refuse to even discuss it much less associate ourselves with finding solutions and implementing them.

          It is no wonder that editors shy away from stories on open defecation and recycling of human waste? Celebrities don’t want to associate their name with it. Politicians avoid talking about it. NGOs prefer issues that can attract international funding and dealing with human shit is not one of them. So it is no surprise that a programme to encourage people to build and use latrines has been a non-starter. And India lags far behind achieving the Millennium Development Goal of reducing by half the proportion of people without access to basic sanitation by 2015.

          As for Andhra Pradesh, it can pride itself for constructing as many as 38 lakh individual sanitary latrines (ISL) in rural areas in the last ten years to wean away the people from the habit of defecating near water bodies, in wooded patches and in bushes. The cost of building the toilets was a mind-boggling Rs 540 crores. Today a mere 20 per cent of the ISL are being used while 80 per cent of them are being used as a storage room. While water supply to the latrines is an issue, a larger issue was overlooked. “We admit this was a hardware-oriented approach,” said Ajay Mishra, Principal Secretary for Rural Water Supply of the AP government. “We realize a behavioural change is needed for people to use the latrines,” he said. Therefore, as an experiment, AP has roped in self help groups in 20 villages to spread awareness on the dangers of defecating in the open and the need for personal hygiene to protect their community especially its children from disease and death.

          Unicef, which has been pulling its hair in desperation at the lack of political will in dealing with this unmentionable issue, points out that five out of 10 killer diseases that target children are caused by poor sanitation, inadequate water supply and poor personal hygiene. Diarrhoea, jaundice, malaria and hookworm claim thousands of lives every day. Diarrhhoea alone kills 1000 children a day. While sanitation coverage in urban areas is 83 per cent, in rural areas it is a mere 26 per cent. It is no wonder therefore that the country loses as many as 180 million mandays and Rs 1200 crores loss annually due to sanitation-related diseases.

          The total sanitation campaign of the Indian government has set a goal of making the country free of open defecation by 2012. As part of this programme, it has instituted Nirmal Gram Puraskar awards for villages where every household and school have ISL. So far, 4,959 villages have won the prize. India has about six lakh villages. If we could make 5000 villages open defecation-free in say five years, it will take us at least 45 years to cover the rest of the 5.5 lakh villages.

          Either we live with stench of death and disease from a stinking India or as concerned citizens we make sanitation our priority and not leave it entirely to the government. We need to break the taboo and openly discuss shit and its disposal.