Sixty per cent of the "global total" who do not have access to toilets live in India, and hence are forced to defecate in the open. In actual numbers, sixty per cent translates to 626 million. This makes India the number one country in the world where open defecation is practised. Indonesia with 63 million is a far second!
At 949 million in 2010 worldwide, vast majority of people practising open defecation live in rural areas. Though the number of rural people practising open defecation has reduced by 234 million in 2010 than in 1990, “those that continue to do so tend to be concentrated in a few countries, including India,” notes the 2012 update report of UNICEF and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
For instance, of the 2.4 lakh gram panchayats in the country, only a mere 24,000 are completely free of open defecation.
More than half of the 2.5 billion people without improved sanitation live in India or China. The high figure prevails even as four out of 10 people who have gained access to improved sanitation since 1990 live in these two countries.
“Rapidly-modernising India is drowning in its own excreta,” notes the New Delhi-based Sunita Narain, Director General of the Centre for Science and Environment in a Comment piece published on June 14 in Nature.
The only silver lining is the determination with which Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh intends to rid the country of open defecation within a decade. His endeavour got a shot in the arm recently when the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs increased the amount of money to be spent for household toilets in rural areas from Rs. 4,600 to Rs.10,000.
But increased spending alone will in no way turn out to be a magic bullet in solving the malaise of open defecation. Numerous examples from other countries serve as testimony to this. Bringing about a change in mindset is the paramount need.
Awareness of the link between open defection and diseases like diarrhoea will in one way change the way people defecate. After all, almost 10 per cent of all communicable diseases are linked to unsafe water and poor sanitation. According to WHO, open defecation is the “riskiest sanitation practice of all.”
According to the global health body, compared with 1990, more than two billion people have access to improved drinking water sources. Thus the Millennium Development Goal's drinking water target has been reached — “over 2 billion people have gained access to improved water sources from 1990 to 2010, and the proportion of the global population still using unimproved sources is estimated at only 11 per cent.”
The fine print
But the fine print reveals the rider. WHO does not have the critical information about the safety of the drinking water, though. Since testing for microbial and chemical parameters to designate drinking waters as safe is expensive, WHO used a proxy indicator — measuring the proportion of the population using drinking water sources that supposedly are protected from contamination, particularly from faecal matter.
But access to drinking sources can hardly be a true indicator, as is the case in India. “Leaking and incomplete sewage systems contaminate rivers and lakes, causing diseases like cholera,” notes Nature. “Around 97 million Indians do not have access to clean drinking water.” The problem arises due to contamination of drinking water by leaked sewage. Sewage inevitably pollutes water bodies, both surface and aquifers.
According to the Comment, only a few facilities exist in the country to treat waste water. “Officially, the country has the capacity to treat 30 per cent of its waste water.” But in reality it is far less at “20 per cent.”
While ridding open defecation will go a long way in improving sanitation and reducing disease outbreaks, Sunita Narain makes a strong case for larger investments in sewage systems and effective use of water. The need for newer technologies cannot be ignored.
Current technologies use “large amounts of water to transport small amounts of excreta through expensive pipes to costly treatment plants, she states. This is “unworkable and unaffordable,” especially considering the fact that cities are growing at a rapid pace and infrastructure is always lagging behind.
This article is corrected for factual error.
Keywords: open defecation, sanitation, disease outbreaks
Be shy as more people said as " INDIA having a well literacy rate"
Please make people aware in this regard.
The Romans had the plumbing problem solved before even the days of Caesar. Why is India 2000 years behind Europe?
Its not that all those 60 per cent people who don't use toilet are not financially able to construct toilets in their homes, actually many of them posses TV, cooler, motorcycles and many other accessories but don't feel the need to have a toilet inside their compound. In fact there is still a traditional thought that the presence of toilets in the compound makes the later impure. Only education and awareness can do something. But what about the railways???..... that is run by educated and aware people......
who will bell the cat,all political parties expense their money to improve their society,not for their misleading advertisement.Also educate the people with ethics.
We have got this problem as a legacy from the British rule. They did nothing to develop even elementary infrastructure like roads, sanitation or drinking water. Thus our elected Netas inherited a virgin India sans any of the above., and they in turn did nothing to improve it. In spite of travelling to western countries and seeing things first hand, our politicians did very little in the last 60 years for the betterment of these basic needs. Now due to population explosion things have gone out of control. The present situation is hopeless as more and more of our rulers are proving to be corrupt. The tragic result is that whatever little resources of the country is left alone by the scamsters are wasted on vigilance & inquiry commissions.
shamefull!!!
@Francis - Poor people cannot afford the luxury of toilets does not mean you blame it on Indian culture. Harappan civilization had sitting toilets in case you have not followed the BBC documentary on the design of ancient Indian cities. The British and their inferior systems of language, healthcare and administration have destroyed India. Sanskrit or any other Indian language has far advanced grammatical and phonetic rules. I am not sure you are aware of how much Panini is respected all over the world. England was rat infested in its dark ages when Vedantic thought was being developed in India. If anything the British looted India and destroyed traditional knowledge systems and made us look down at our own country.
We are our own worst enemy...
Many reviewed the problem nicely. I think our biggest problem is the population. Poor Mother India has to feed 20 Australias. Whatever welfare measures taken so far by the government has not reached fully the mass. We don't need to build new temples, mosques, churches, gurudwaras etc.,. Public toilets with good water facility is the need of the hour.
Requires a multifaceted plan that includes: 1) Awareness campaign involving public and private sectors, schools, offices, radio, tv, print media etc. All radio and tv stations must be required to spare at least a total of 30 minutes during a day to propagate a 'hygiene message'. Emphasis on the proper use of toilets and not throwing rubbish everywhere. Enlist high profile personalities, sports (Tendulkar, Dravid, Dhoni) and movie stars, top corporate personalities to promote the awareness campaign. 2) Provide adequate facilities and maintenance: Working cooperatively with business and NGOs let the governments provide leadership to plan and create adequate toilet facilities. Give businesses encouragement and tax incentives to establish and manage toilets as part of their community responsibility. A user should leave the toilet clean or cleaner than the condition when he entered. 3) Adapt new dry toilet and other technologies. 4) Apply heavy penalties for inappropriate or misuse.
Urinating in public must be banned and fined.Not having toilets and defaecating in open is one issue but what about all these men who thinks its ok to urinate on the streets. Its not because they don't have acccess to toilets but think its ok to do so. Also, its high time Indian railways stop dirtying the railway tracks with the human waste ..
Reliance Industries can make this as a business opportunity and and come with an innovative business project to save India.
Dear Mr. Ambani or any other rich business personality, I beg of you to help your country by devising some method of constructing at least 25 million public toilets in India on a business like method where each one has to pay one rupee or something like it for using it. You could make some money and also help India. Also you should get legislatures to pass a law that open defecation will be a punishable offence. Otherwise, NO indian however rich he maybe will not be respected in the world, as he represents the open defecating masses. I am a friend and great lover of India's great tradition of humility and kindness embodied in M.Gandhi.
But, what will happen if toilets are made??? They will find a way of all that excreta to Indian rivers, as it happened over last 6 decades or more...This has been scientifically proven to be one of the biggest pollutants of Indian rivers in addition to the industrial effluents...where is the solution???
No doubt, most of the people who defecate in open,lack awareness about sanitation. But apart from this , the single major factor which forces people to defecate in open is poverty.They don't have a proper home for themselves,leave alone toilets.There are two possible solutions for this problem : 1)Alleviate poverty(which can't be done in short term,if it can be ever done) 2)Build public toilets in rural and deprived areas,where people can defecate at free of cost.
There are multiple factors 1. Water - How house hold have water? And Question is who will provide? 2. Education on Hygienic and environment. Who will provide? 3. Toilets - How many of the household have toilet? Once we have 1 and 2 and I am sure more people will build toilets. 4. How may clean toilets we have in public places? Who is going to build? With above most of the responsibility falls on municipalities, govt., and the elected members we have provided them the responsibility. So who is going to take to task? Instead of blaming, Do something and make the govt. act. Our elected members need push, else they think public are happy.
think about its impact on the soil fertility in India and money saved on fertilizers
Educated or uneducated, people in rural areas, for want of indoor plumbing use open space for defecating. There are some people (some kind of activists) who think that open defecation is more hygienic and having an indoor toilet is dirty and filthy. This it seems one of ancient wisdom of our forefathers. This idea is based on the philosophy that everything that was old really good, and it is the modern way of life that is really useless and bad for our health and hygiene. Nowadays, there uppity-up urbanites who own dogs they bring them into the local parks and fields for them to defecate and do not clear them after. People who go for morning walks have to constantly on the look out for dog turd in many parks of Bangalore. These so called educated urbanites are totally shameless about their dogs defecating in public places. So, there we go man and animals co-existing happily!?!! God save Indians!
I find too many only talk - we have been talking since the British left India 64 years. Many million born in 1947 are long dead and gone. Nobody tried to copy what the British did, or improve the sanitation system that was built by the English man. They gave us the world best language - but our leaders wanted national language. Not one Indian language teaches hygiene. Every morning one get up prays to God, makes puja, then fills his lota with water and goes for a open air dyke.
One of the factors that I migrated to Canada is simple fact, I do not want to be living in a world's largest open air lavatory. India is a pig stye, and how come Indians do not eat pigs?
No point building toilets when there is no water.. building more toilets cannot solve this problem. Those who said "Education is the key" - Yes in a way to reduce the number of children per woman. But it does not make people better in sanitary habits. Indian education system helps you memorize things..that's it. Check out the 'educated kids' and their habits in India. Even the kids who come to US as doctors and engineers- Have you spent one day in their hostel rooms with bed bugs and dirty latrines and over flowing sink with pots and pans...Have u watched Delhi Belly.It is not the poor who are unclean because they defecate in the open. Even the rich who are educated have millions breed roaches. Check the desi stores in New York. Check how any place looks and how dirty the wash room is..after any Indian function in the US or any movie theatre where they show Indian movies. They behave well when they have to. Indians must be kicked in the Butt or made to pay up fines like in Singapore.
All the above comments have a certain percentage of truth in them ........lack of education,lack of awareness,government indifference, poor drainage system,.........and many,many more........but I would say that the basic problem lies in the fact that we do not inculcate in our children and from there onwards our entire citizenry,the values of CIVIC SENSE.Mere education is not enough,and please don't blame the government for everything.....we are the government,or are we not? I would ask the youth of this great country of ours to "AWAKE,ARISE AND ACT"!!!!!!!!!
It is because lack of toilet facilities in many undeveloped areas.
Read the comments on ANY news item (not just about sanitation) that
concerns our socio-economic welfare, you will find one common refrain
by Indians in most cases: "It's the Government's responsibility to do
something". No matter how major/minor the issue,our attitude is "the
Government immediately do something". As @Gopal Vaidya pointed out,
we treat ourselves as'powerless victims' & that attitude prevents us
from solving our problems. One does not have to look far and wide to
see problems crying for our attention. Forget about the
state/country. Just take your neighborhood & tell me there isn't
something wrong that you can't address? Perhaps some gentleman openly
defecating; people disposing household trash where ever; domestic
child labor; motorists riding on the wrong side,speeding in narrow
streets of residential areas,incessantly honking; schoolkids without
shoes; people littering on street.We need the Government to
intervene? We lack civic sense & don't feel embarrassed for it.
I believe only govt can solve this problem. There has to be some one in authority to instill good habits. You or me cannot build public toilets. When commercial establishments are given permits (like restaurants,shopping malls)there has to be a minimum number of toilets, fire exits etc. This only govt can enforce. The drainage system, water supply etc can be ensured only by govt. When permits are given for house construction there has to be a toilet. I have seen in TN govt built houses with out toilet. Sulabh wanted to build pay per use toilet in TN. The grand old yellow shawl wearing CM did not allow that. May be he thought defecating in public is a must and part of our culture. When even adults dont know what is hygeine and how to use toilet properly, how to expect it to improve. We have to start from school at the primary and nursery level. Repeatedly teach them so that it is ingrained. At least we can reduce the number of people who will dirty the surrounding. Keep on campaining.
We Indians need to be sensitised in this regard. Mr Peter and Mr John have given invaluable ideas in this regard. We need to follow the Chinese model as demographically we are more similar to them than any other country. Ms Alvarez gave an implementable idea. We can try this experiment in some villages. Pigs can be of immense value to our society. They provide food as well as recycle waste matter. Finally all religious objections must be over-ridden for the betterment of humans.
The govt. can't solve this problem. A number of these people in rural areas have houses, Satelite TV, and even own a two wheeler. There are community toilets that they don't use. These people expect things for free and the government obliges them with hand outs. there needs to be a carrot and stick policy to address this.
The best example of sheer negligence of our Govt. can be seen in our railways. The very model of defecating openly on the track seems ridiculous and yet no one has bothered to change these type of toilets. Even standing near the tracks in urban railways stations is a horrible experience. It feels to be the filthiest place on earth. And of course the blame goes to the public for their poor sense of Hygiene as well.
The vice-chairman of the planning commission in India is an expert on toilets. He should be consulted.
Excellent articles by R. Prasad here and by Sunita Narain in the latest edition of Nature published on June 14th to bring out an issue we have simply ignored for so long. I agree with Marudah and believe that lack of simple necessities isn't just a village problem. The central school where I studied in Delhi had just one toilet for more than 500 students in spite of having funds to celebrate annual day extravagantly. The worst facilities I have seen are at Agra tourist centre and Taj compound where every foreign tourist buys a Rs. 750 ticket. I'm in Germany and my colleagues often discuss about how good the Indian economy is doing. I have published a research article in the same issue of Nature and am hoping that my colleagues won't look in detail inside the magazine while searching for my article. We need a grass root campaign on how many diseases can be avoided by basic cleanliness and how spending on toilets is as important as developing other infrastructure. India not shining yet.
Our Sanitation Ministry(newly formed in 2011) head Jairam Ramesh said "We are clean, our houses are clean, but look at our streets.." He is going to change it all, only thing is it takes time. Also Govt. has allocated 30,000 Crores in this five-year plan and only Jairam Ramesh can make best use of it for the nation. He also said "Indian households prefer having mobile phone to a functioning toilet.."
It is a shame that 60 years after independence and India is still in such a state, where people have no knowledge, no resources to maintain a minimal level of hygiene. Also there is no possibility of improvement in the short term.
What about the cleaning agents, acids that we use to clean the toilets..the plastic that is used to make the cleaning brushes..the non biodegradable commodes that are here to stay forever..Faeces are biodegradable and they will atleast make the sand more fertile..
Again, I found some more mistakes when the authors quotes details from Sunita Naraian's Nature paper. Authors quotes "Around 97 per cent of Indians do not have access to clean drinking water" instead of "Around 97 million Indians do not have access to clean drinking water". " 600 million Indians practice open defecation" means about 50% Indians, not 60% as quoted by author. Care should be taken while reporting in reputed newspaper such as The Hindu.
Overall good article. But please check the stats and not exaggerate it to make a point. According to census 2011, 49.8 per cent ease themselves in the open, 46.9 per cent of the total 246.6 million households have toilet facilities. Of the rest, 3.2 per cent use public toilets.
The toilet models that are in practice in the urban places cannot be
put in place in the rural areas. First of all, awareness has to be
created where open defecation is practised. There has to proper
drainage system in place in the public toilets with regular
maintenance. Most of the toilets which are started for public use are
being neglected by the people due to improper maintenance. It is the
matter of hygiene that can attract more people to use toilet. In a
country like India it is very difficult and takes a long time to
change the practice of open defecation in rural areas. The
implementation of toilet system can be carried out in a phased manner
with prior creation of awareness through media. One has to think of
this fact, it is in the same country where people get rice for free of
cost, but pay Rs 1 to 3 for answering nature’s call.
India tests Agni V - most Indians are very proud about this!
60% of India has no access to toilets - How many of us can talk about this openly?
Infrastructure development is a high priority in India.
Even the educated ones in India think it is OK to urinate by the side of the road. I have seen people getting off imported expensive cars to urinate. Indians do not know the meaning of hygiene and most are not bothered about clenliness and are not house proud. See the buildings that cry for fresh external paint. I guess with the new generation, India will improve.
I know we have some really intelligent ppl commenting here, but here
is my question "wht is the problem with excreting in open" , i can
totally understand if a public place or near a market, such a action
is not prohibited but excreta at the end provides nourishment to the
soil, it is wht we give to wht we took from the nature.....we may need
some kind of order but definitely we do NOT need a perfect
sanitation....all the ppl who sit at home and use their toilets are
missing one part .....it has always been how much u have given and how
much u have taken from nature....and believe me the one who is using
an open sky is way better than u....
The government budget is alloted to beatify the toilets of their offices which are used only in
the office timings. The Pig solution will be like from the pan into the fire. People have to be
made aware that spending extravagantly on marriages and other functions needs curbing &
personal toilets to be encouraged to ensure cleanliness. The footpath dwellers to be made
partner mnagers of the public toilets.
Open defecation occurs not only because there is not enough toilets
for the households but also the open air immediately removes the stink
around and it is very clean. Some decades ago commodes were
manufactured with thick porcelain coating and there were no rims and
water flushing holes. It was mostly water pouring type. The waste
matter did not stick around and bad smell was not there. Nowadays the
manufacturers produce very cheap commodes with a thin coating of
porcelain hence after cleaning the surface with hard corrosive
materials the smooth surface is lost. The flushing type commodes with
rims need proper brushes to clean. All public conveniences are money
making business for the politically affiliated contractors. They sign
the tenders promising to charge one rupee for defecating but actually
charge Rs. 3 to Rs.5/- hence the poor people continue to do open
defecation. It is a shame to make money from "pissing" and "shitting"
How many schools have good toilets? When I was attending school-1980's, I tried to limit the visit to one time only by drinking less water. Eventhough I was attending a private schools in upper middle class areas.
This continued even in my work areas. Many don't talk. And even if the toilets are clean, enough water is available, they don't flush. And now lot of places have ran out of water also. And has gone worst. I did not raise my voice and the generation next have also muted...So no body feels it an important thing. Now I am in US and my kids don't want to visit India because of worst toilets!!
I sure would not eat those pigs.
Did one need to do "research" to establish this fact?? A short visit to the country is enough. Bharath Mata has already drowned in a sea of excrement!! So much for a nation with nuclear capability and a booming economy!!
NO other Asian country is as filthy as India.
Our Planning Commission is seized of this matter and are planning earnest for tackling this problem. Their enthusiasm in addressing this issue was very much in evidence in the recent past.
Eye-opening article. The Govt. alone can solve this problem by constructing pay and use toilet and bath-room facilities at all necessary places. It should also educate the masses and ensure compliance, punish the violators as it has provided the minimum facility. This should begin with all cities and towns and if possible simultaneously in rural areas.
INDIA THE INCREDIBLE with 60% of its population defecating in the open public there has been no EPIDEMIC OR ENDEMIC of cholera or e.coli what is the secret?
@Madhusudhan Pendyala - People with attitude like yours are part of the problem. It is not that government (rulers and administrators, as you call them) are the only ones responsible. People have to take responsibility for their own well being as well. Treating people as 'powerless victims' prevents them from solving problems. Nothing in your post pointed to any suggestions for practical measures.
Half the people who write comments and many who worry about this problme will again go back and vote for their own religion person or caste person in elections. This menace is a challenge as we have one billion population and the land is not enough. To eradicate any problems we must choose the right leaders-do we have gut to keep religion and caste aside in doing so? Just look at many states like UP or Andhra Pradesh. If we do so-we will get the leaders who are honest. The corrupt will never punished because the corrupt know that they can use the religion or caste cover to hide!!! This open defecation problem will not go away with just education.
Instead of cramming hundreds of maths formulas into our children in elementary schools, we will be better served by explaining the importance of sanitation. Unless this is done, merely constructing more toilets will not solve the problem. All too often we notice people defecating in public even though a public toilet is available nearby.
This happens not because Lack of education among people in India,but because of negligence of the rulers and political system that is ruling for the last 65+ years.They care for themselves but neglect the welfare of people who are untouchables after coming to power.A drastic change in policy making coupled with people's initiative supported by administration efforts will definitely change the seen.For example a political leader changes in five years but common man suffers for lifelong,i.e,the life time of common man is 65+years and life of Independent India is 65+ years.WHO survey is direct slap on negligent Indian Rulers and administrators alike leave about educationists, environmentalists, philanthropists who day in day out proclaim about principles and values.PEOPLE ARE LEFT WITH NO ALTERNATIVES!?. Mahatma Gandhi is quoted saying "India is having enough resources to feed the need,but may not be allowed to satisfy the greed". Social Worker & Journalist.
Open defecation is a national shame as per Sunita Narain.In absolute numbers India tops in number of people open defecating.Think about toilets without water in urban,peri-urban areas, it will be unhygienic and polluting to the ill health of people and habitat.In China human faecal matter is a national wealth.In public areas like railway stations,parks etc comfort stations are available where the faecal matter is flushed/sucked into pits and got processed into value added manures and feeds to fauna,fish and birds.We must learn from Chinese experiences of making waste into wealth.Washing hands after defecation and cleaning and also sanitization of hands are pre-requisites for healthy living.Awareness at
individual and family level are to be created on a clean habitat.
Educating people would go a long way in alleviating this problem. But then, of course, they have to defecate somewhere if they don't even have sanitation facilities. I am, of course, referring to homeless people. This project, as long-term as it is, should have been underway for a long time now.
Pig toilets are the best answer till the masses improve their standard of living. These
provide a clean safe environment as the excreta is eaten immediately by the pigs.
They are also cheap to put up as all you need is a nullah for the pigs to roam in and
a brick and mud structure with a simple squat type or turkish toilet installed on the
floor The roofs could be of zinc sheet or slate on coconut beams. The mud toilet
pipe hardly costs much. The pigs then can provide much needed nourishment for the
locals in these remote neglected towns where malnourishment is high. Of course this
system has to be avoided in muslim areas. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the
best ones!
Professor John has rightly pointed out that education is the key to solving this problem. Children in the schools should be taught hygiene, and the link between open defecation and disease right from the primary level. The general populace should be educated on these aspects through simple but factual, and sensitively produced documentaries that could be broadcast through television just as farming technologies are presented. The rural medical centers could be used to educate people. For urban populace television is the best mode of educating people in personal, and community hygiene, disease prevention, protection of water and environment. China and Singapore have achieved giant strides in this area through education and strict punishment for violators. The sooner we start the better it would be for the country.
What about the Railways? For the Railways, the whole of India is one
open lavatory.
This happens because of 1.Lack of Education and 2. They dont know
the value of such matter.Human Faeces strange to say has monetary
value for the gases released in biodegradation.The Chinese use it
along with pig waste first to produce energy(gas) for cooking for
households and when biodegraded as good organic manure.The handicap
lies in the toilets which require to be kept clean and attractive
to invite the user. Even the sophisticated aircraft Toilets require
to be cleaned well and so also the normal peoples toilet has to be
looked after well.It makes money, you Know!
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