India sets target to build 5.2 million toilets in rural areas by end of August
BMJ 2014; 349 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g4682 (Published 18 July 2014) Cite this as: BMJ 2014;349:g4682
All rapid responses
Rapid responses are electronic comments to the editor. They enable our users to debate issues raised in articles published on bmj.com. A rapid response is first posted online. If you need the URL (web address) of an individual response, simply click on the response headline and copy the URL from the browser window. A proportion of responses will, after editing, be published online and in the print journal as letters, which are indexed in PubMed. Rapid responses are not indexed in PubMed and they are not journal articles. The BMJ reserves the right to remove responses which are being wilfully misrepresented as published articles or when it is brought to our attention that a response spreads misinformation.
From March 2022, the word limit for rapid responses will be 600 words not including references and author details. We will no longer post responses that exceed this limit.
The word limit for letters selected from posted responses remains 300 words.
Dear Editors,
Thessaloniki’s bay in Greece was an ecological paradise 50 years ago.
Today the sea water of this bay is heavily polluted.
Marine pollution did not occur just because sewage was thrown in the sea.
It was being thrown in the sea already, back in the fifties!
What happened then?
Who is responsible for this ecological catastrophe? [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]
Bureaucracy!
Over the years, European Union and Greek State funds have been financing the protection of the sea near Thessaloniki with tens of millions of euros.
All this money has generated the creation of 69 State, University and private agencies (!) whose only purpose is to control the pollution and protect the ecosystem of the bay. [1]
Heavy bureaucracy has been inhibiting coordination, so no particular agency can be held responsible for this ecological disaster!
The only things that all these environmental agencies have been doing successfully over the last 50 years are financing themselves and sustaining their numerous employees.
Hundreds of doctoral theses on the pollution of Thessaloniki’s bay have been financed over the years, but the problem persists.
It is outrageous that European Community funds are still financing all these inefficient agencies!
Have European Community officials ever visited the bay of Thessaloniki to check if their money is properly used?
References
[1] Fotis Koutsamparis’ article for newspaper MAKEDONIA, 04/05/2012, fkoutsamparis@makthes.gr
[2] http://diposit.ub.edu/dspace/bitstream/2445/48483/1/629266.pdf
[3] http://www.srcosmos.gr/srcosmos/showpub.aspx?aa=6905
[4] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19155127
[5] http://www.stfc.ac.uk/cse/resources/pdf/wrm05018fu_barber_volakos.pdf
[6] http://old.iupac.org/publications/ci/2000/january/greece2.html
[7] http://www.latsis-foundation.org/files/Summer%20School/2010/Lecturers/ka...
[8] http://www.srcosmos.gr/srcosmos/showpub.aspx?aa=11047
[9] http://www.contemporaryjournalism.gr/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/AlexGreg...
[10] http://coastman.free.fr/wp/Coastman_WP9.pdf
[11] http://ec.europa.eu/ourcoast/index.cfm?menuID=7&articleID=342
Competing interests: No competing interests
The efforts of the Government of India in building toilets in rural areas is a welcome step towards promoting health, sanitation and hygiene in rural areas of India. Efforts have also been made earlier in promoting sanitary toilets in rural India. Before implementation we must also try to understand the psyche of the people in rural areas. The practice of open defaecation, going bare foot on green grass are some of the culturally accepted practices seen in rural India. Scientifically, those educated are aware about the health hazards posed by these practices. However, the acceptance of toilets in rural India is poor.
As per a report (1), it has been reported that 60% of the rural population does not have toilet facility even after 66 years of Indian independence. The figure is less (less than 9%) in urban India. India has launched the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan since 1986 with a toilet-construction mission. This programme offers subsidies for building latrines. Since 2001, the central government has spent Rs 15,000 crore to build 93.5 million toilets across the country (2).
The only state declared having 100% rural toilets is Sikkim. Consciousness about hygiene and privacy among the Sikkimese are the reasons cited for this achievement besides the door to door campaign and involvement of school children in the awareness programme. The state actually achieved the goal in December 2008, when it was declared a ‘Nirmal Rajya’, a state completely free from open defecation. The centre gave the state’s 163 gram panchayats the Nirmal Gram Puraskar, a monetary incentive ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 30 lakh, to ensure that every household has a toilet. "Sikkim has also set new benchmark for utilisation of funds under the scheme," the state government said. "The utilization percentage was 99.2 percent till February 2014”(2).
It has been observed that though some villages are declared open-defaecation free, some of them revert back to open-defaecation. The reasons are many. Firstly, there is lack of water supply in many rural areas. In absence of water, the toilets become unusable. Secondly, toilets are perceived to be dirty places and should not be located near the houses. Thirdly, there are beliefs that sanitation is the duty of a certain group of lower caste communities.
Some organizations such as Sulabh International, Water aid etc. are making efforts in educating the rural people for acceptance of toilets. However, there is a need for Government support in promoting and educating the masses about the utility of rural toilets. This requires education about hygiene and sanitation targeting school children who easily accept to the ideas and carry home the messages for the better. Unless people are educated acceptance won’t be coming forth for toilets.
References
1. No toilet facility for 60% rural population, says NSSO. Available at http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-12-25/news/45540803_1_.... (Accessed on 25th July 2014).
2. How Sikkim built toilets for all – and why the rest of India is struggling to catch up.
Available at http://scroll.in/article/656661/How-Sikkim-built-toilets-for-all-%E2%80%.... (Accessed on 25th July 2014).
Competing interests: No competing interests
Sir
We must congratulate the Indian Government for building toilets. India is a country of villages. The majority of villagers are farmers. They totally depend upon faming. Indian farming totally depends upon natural rain. Because of restricted resources a farmer's per capital income is low. Closed toilets prevent waterborne infections and parasitic diseases. In addition to these benefits, we note that closed toilets prevent life threatening snake bite during night hours particularly in women.
India is facing repeated droughts, mainly affecting farmers. There is no task force or active scheme to harvest rain water. Because of repeated droughts the water level is deep and bore-wells are dried up.
Irrespective of availability of toilets because of water, they remained unused. Scientists must innovate a method by chemical and biological means of converting the soil into odourless manure. Or use plastic bags with a rapid soil converter which can be easily carried to farms.
Even today many villages receive water by tanker twice a week as their supply of drinking water.
Competing interests: No competing interests
Good to see the focus on providing toilet facilities but worried that such a short deadline will sacrifice focus on effective implementation. It'll be a tragedy to have funds wasted because of undue haste in trying to solve a long standing problem.
Competing interests: No competing interests
Re: India sets target to build 5.2 million toilets in rural areas by end of August
Having read the alleged reasons why so many rural Indians lack toilets or wouldn't even use them I have to remind myself that this is in a country with nuclear weapons, a space exploration programme and pride in one of its citizens having won the Nobel Prize for the economics of social welfare.
Competing interests: No competing interests