The report, “ >More men among toilet-sceptics in India ” (Sept. 22), sheds light on the darker side of open defecation. Toilets become defunct if there is in sufficient water supply. Maintenance and sanitation should be given paramount importance. People have a perception that open defecation is good for health. The government must create an awareness in rural India that good health is linked to the use of proper toilet use. The Prime Minister’s firm stand on making India open-defecation-free is indeed laudable.
S. Rajesh Kumar,
Karimnagar, Telangana
The article reminds me of the situation in my village in Nellore district where 40 families reside. There was not a single toilet before 2005, but then things changed. Even though most houses now have toilets, men still seem to prefer open defecation. The facility is mainly used by women and girls in the family. Toilets are used only during the rainy season or when there is a family gathering during the festival season.
V. Sai Teja Reddy,
Kavali
Most people in rural India prefer open defecation because houses typically will have provision for only a single toilet unit. Family members resort to open defecation to avoid crowding the only toilet in the mornings, usually the time when one does one’s ablutions. Tackling this problem requires a holistic approach, linked to health gains.
Sivamani Vasudevan,
Chennai
One was reminded of an earlier article, “The link between sanitation and schooling”, which noted the importance of providing toilets in schools. As important as it is to provide toilets, it is even more important to keep toilets clean; otherwise people will stop using them and this will stultify the whole exercise. Perhaps what we need is the introduction of a section on “personal hygiene and how to keep toilets clean” in the elementary school curriculum, which could be made mandatory. Of course even adults in our society could do with some awareness and training on this. If it is made part of the curriculum, it will help raise, over a period of time, the woefully low standards of hygiene in our society.
B. Sathiapalan,
Chennai
