On World Toilet Day, India Focuses on Pledge to Build Toilets for All
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Date: 11/19/2014 7:01:05 PM
Sender: VOA
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Indian school children participate in a rally to mark World Toilet Day in Hyderabad, India, Nov.19, 2014.
NEW DELHI—
India is racing to build toilets by 2019 for 600 million people or roughly half the population which lacks access to sanitization. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has put it high on the national agenda, but the challenge could be daunting in a country where defecating in the open is a common sight and is accepted by many as normal.
A giant 700-kilogram cake shaped like a toilet, a walk-a-thon and pledges by hundreds of students to join a sanitation drive marked a three-day event in New Delhi (Nov. 18-20) billed as International Toilet Festival.
It was held to observe World Toilet Day. It is a day that got more attention than ever before, thanks to a massive campaign launched by Modi last month (Oct. 2) to provide toilets in every home.
School students like Diksha sound enthusiastic about the drive, which also focuses on cleaning up towns and cities where garbage lying in streets is a common sight.
“I want you all to be encouraged, get motivated by all these people who are here, including me and my friends, not to pollute the environment and to create toilets where ever possible,” said Diksha.
The event was organized by Sulabh International, an India-based social organization that has been working to improve sanitation.
Danger in the field
Lack of access to toilets has been identified as a huge problem, particularly in rural India. It not only spreads diseases like diarrhea but also exposes women to the risk of sexual assault when they go into the fields after dark. A World Bank study estimated that poor sanitation could be costing India $54 billion in treatments for illnesses, early deaths and lost productivity.
Health experts however say the challenge is more complex than one of just providing toilets.
In villages, there is often huge resistance to using them, partly due to age-old cultural associations of latrines in, or near, the home with ritual impurity. |
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