With India set to become the most populous nation by 2028, an urgent need to build toilets for its burgeoning population, especially in the rural belt, is being felt. As this issue is in consonance with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent “Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan”, Jack Sim, World Toilet Organisation (WTO) founder, feels that nothing short of a cultural renaissance will be able to solve the country’s pressing problem.
Jack, a Singaporean who has been in touch with India through various interventions and interactions, was in Delhi to create awareness about the need to construct public conveniences across the country. In this drive, he wants all stakeholders – those in the corridors of power, corporate honchos, Bollywood actors and sports icons – to work towards this goal.
As a crusader for sanitation worldwide, Jack addressed the recently held “World Toilet Summit” in the Capital, where he pointed out that the world over there have been innovations in sanitation but India lags behind in even basic sanitation. WTO and World Education Foundation jointly organised the 14 edition of the annual seminar.
After becoming economically self-reliant, Jack founded the WTO in 2001 and decided to devote the rest of his life to social work.
Jack expresses concern over the lack of toilets.
“Modi has big plans to end the sanitation crisis in India, which needs to build more than 100 million toilets in the next five years. We quickly need to create credible behavioural changes among the Indians so that they use toilets. Open defection is leading to diseases like diarrhoea, death and presence of intestinal worms in children. Adolescent girls are dropping out of schools because of lack of public convenience. I have read about an incident in which Indian girls, gone into the fields to defecate, had been raped.”
On the solutions to have this basic amenity for the public, Jack says better coordination, meeting demand and procuring the right technology are essential prerequisites.
“Generally, people talk about toilets in a grumbling way. Unlike India, Singapore, which too was a British colony, had toilets. In India, the British didn’t give attention to public convenience. It is important to understand that a sick nation cannot become an economic powerhouse.”
Pointing out that WTO’s job is to share all information on the technology and the best practices to stop this problem, Jack informs that a number of nations want to help India in this area.
“Help can come from know-how, sharing experience, money and training. The lack of toilets is a shame. The tourism growth cannot be sustained without toilets. It is time to realise that toilets are instant cash. India can earn a lot of revenue if it invests in public convenience. Look at the world-class toilet at the Delhi International Airport. The Terminus 3 toilet is even better than American toilets. This should be the aim for the future. I will be coming to India to mobilise resources.”
