First step to Swachh Bharat: Why proper sanitation matters the most

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched his much-talked about Swachh Bharat campaign on Thursday, he also stressed on the importance of sanitation. 60 percent of the populace in rural areas still defecates in open, PM Modi said, adding that the stigma of women lacking toilet facilities has to be removed. [caption id=“attachment_1740253” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Many parts of rural India still lack proper sanitation facilities. Reuters[/caption] Modi said that he has requested corporate firms to evolve plans under corporate social responsibility to build clean toilets, especially for girl students in schools. India, he said, should learn from foreign countries, where people are disciplined and do not litter in public places. He said though it is a difficult task, it can be achieved and for that people will have to change their habits. “If people of India can reach Mars with minimal expenditure, why can they not keep their streets and colonies clean,” said PM Modi. As the importance of good sanitation facilities is increasing in a country with an ever-increasing population, here is a look at a presentation by AskHowIndia on the importance of efficient sanitation. As the presentation points out that close to 69 percent of Indians in villages don’t have access to a toilet and that access has increased at a rate of less than 10 percentage points. In 2001, 22 percent Indian in villages had access, which rose to a mere 31 percent in 2011. Also, the slideshow shows that even when people have access to toilets, many of them prefer not to use them, because very often they have no water supply to keep the toilet clean. The solution, as pointed out, is to also help build toilets which are easier to maintain and require less water usage. The presentation also adds that we need to monitor the usage of toilets as well and not just look at the construction side of things. Check out presentation below:

How can we reduce open defecation in rural India? from AskHowIndia