TOILETS FIRST, TEMPLES LATER

                                                                       -By Milan K Sinha

"My image is that of Hindutva but I'll tell you my real thinking. I have said in my state: pehle shauchalaya, phir devalaya (toilets first, temples later)," – Narendra Modi

“More than 1.1 billion people in the world practice open defecation. The largest number of these people are in India, followed by Indonesia, Pakistan, Ethiopia, and Nigeria” - A UNICEF & WHO Report

"No matter how many temples we go to, we are not going to get salvation. We need to give priority to toilets and cleanliness," -Jairam Ramesh

  

Surprisingly, however, in our country the poor state of sanitation and lack of toilet facilities have been primarily a matter of political discussion and academic deliberations at different levels. If it is not true, why 60% people of India defecate in the open even after more than 60 years   of planning process; a state like Bihar which has been registering an average state GDP growth of more than 10% for the last seven years, is still known as a state where about 67 percent of rural population does not have access to basic sanitation facilities.

The next few minutes would take you through   some revealing facts about the basic sanitation scenario still prevailing in this second most populous country - a country having a GDP size of two trillion dollar and whose GDP growth rate has been better than that of many well off countries at least during last one decade.

It is interesting to note that “Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan"  - Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) was launched way back in 1999-2000 which aimed at motivating rural households to build toilets and encouraging their use to finally achieve an ODF (Open Defecation Free) environment and also make the rural people realize the need for good sanitation practices. The main strategy for implementation of this nation-wide program has been ‘community led’ and ‘people centred’.

But, even after more than a decade, the sordid fact remains. India is termed as the world's capital of open defecation. 53% Indian population lack sanitation facilities, where as it is only 7% in case of Bangladesh and Brazil. More than 60% of households in Uttrakhand, Orissa, Bihar, Chhatisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Rajasthan are without toilets. Only 28,000 Gram Panchayats (GPs) are declared as "Nirmal Gram" under TSC   program out of 2.4 lac GPs in the country.   

Yes, it is on record that even Jairam Ramesh, Union Minister for Rural Development, termed it as a matter of shame and sorrow, anguish and anger while asserting, ‘Gandhiji gave ‘Quit India’ call in Sevagram for freedom struggle and today I appeal to all of you to make villages open defecation free because it’s an issue of country’s pride.’ And, in all probability, as a follow up action, the union minister initiated few commendable measures including spearheading an emotive and eye catching awareness campaign where in one can see the Bollywood blockbuster film 'Dirty Picture’ and ‘Kahaani’ fame actress, Vidya Balan in a nicely shot social advertisement stressing the need of having a toilet for each family in rural India.

It is, undoubtedly praiseworthy that few states have taken encouraging initiatives in this direction. Sikkim is one of them and it has earned the honor of becoming the first state in the country which is Open-Defecation Free. Kerala and Himachal Pradesh will soon be in that bracket.

Notwithstanding few such sporadic measures being taken at the level of central government and by  few states, albeit belatedly,  no one can deny the fact that the impact of deplorable  state of sanitation over the decades has been  many and multi-dimensional on health  and hygiene of common Indians and also on the country's much talked about stories of 'economic prosperity'.

     

It has been a painful reality that inadequate  supply of clean and drinkable water together with lack of toilet and urinal facilities in schools are major cause of poor attendance and health problems of the children. As far as adolescent girls are concerned, they tend to drop out of the school due to these reasons. Generally speaking, women and girls, particularly in villages find it very embarrassing and insulting for not having the facility of a toilet at home as they have no other option but to defecate in the open only after sunset, that too at the cost of their health and personal safety.

It is a common knowledge that defecation in open is fraught with high risk of microbial contamination of water which is a major cause of diarrhea and other intestinal infections among the children. Health problems pertaining to  a large section of population due to the aforesaid reasons has a multidimensional impact on our economy in terms of productivity losses, increased expenses  in the name of  providing medical treatment by the government besides having damaging effect on the Shining/Rising India image internationally. If one calculates the net financial loss to the exchequer for not having the basic sanitation facilities, it would be an astounding figure.

Everyone knows for sure, where there is will, there is a way, and so is the cardinal truth that where there is a malady, there must have a remedy. And the remedy of this malady is not far- fetched either. It can very well be in place by initiating and/or accelerating few time bound action plans. State Governments have to   incorporate it on their top agenda items for implementation and Central government to provide adequate financial support in this regard. All Gram Panchayats (GPs) have to identify the needy households and ensure provision of toilet  within the stipulated  time period of maximum two years by availing the required support from the local government authorities. In order to lend active moral support to this top priority government sponsored program, mass awareness campaign is required to be undertaken  effectively on an ongoing basis by all GPs  and other elected bodies  among the affected masses particularly the poor and illiterates. Yes, media has a great role to play in this regard. It must focus its full attention on this vital issue   and report the progress and also the anomaly, if any, being adopted by local implementing machinery regularly.

Our millions of disadvantaged countrymen don’t demand Malls & Museums, Airports & Aircrafts; they demand only basic necessities of a human life. So, the time has come for the civil society, especially women organizations, to come forward in a decisive manner to compel all political parties to unanimously agree to list this item (provision of a toilet for every household) on top of their political agenda along with Food, Clothing & Shelter. Would our political masters be able to act genuinely in this regard to be called really people’s representative, only their action tell in next couple of months.

As always, I am keen to know what you think on this subject. Hence, request you to post Comments to share your views and experiences.

                                 Will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.