ODF and the cows of New India

Why is only the human defecating in the open a problem? What about all the stray animals?

September 16, 2018 12:00 am | Updated July 06, 2022 12:21 pm IST

I don’t know about others but my mind wanders a lot. It starts with a thought at some point and passes to or traverses many others. I am always intrigued by the railway tracks. The way the trains switch tracks has always fascinated me. Yes, trains and railway tracks, that’s not all that comes to my mind when thinking about trains and tracks. There is more to it, at least one thing more. That is the rather doubtless distinction of the Great Indian Railways and tracks being the biggest open public toilet, as well as the biggest dustbin in the world. I‘ll explain how.

Toilets were first introduced on the Indian Railways in the early part of the last century. It now has a whopping total track length and carries millions of passengers daily. And all of us know very well that many among these millions take a dump and pee and also often throw out their refuse. In the case of refuse, the only exceptions are perhaps people travelling in air-conditioned coaches, not because they don’t want to throw stuff outside, but they simply can’t because they don’t have the luxury of opening the windows in air-conditioned coaches.

It will be wrong to accuse the passengers of any wrong because they have no other options. The Indian Railways is trying other options such as bio-toilets but for now I don’t want to get into that discussion as even thinking about the Indian Railways’ bio-toilets sickens me. Also, there are many others who contribute to making the Indian Railways ‘The Great Indian Toilet and Dustbin’. Yes, you guessed it right; I am talking about those who squat and defecate along railway tracks without an iota of shame.

Open defecation is emptying of the bowels in the open without the use of properly designed structures built for handling the waste, such as a toilet, which is a fixed receptacle that a person may use for the purpose. Typically it will consist of a large bowl connected to a system for flushing away the waste into a sewer. By this definition of open defecation and toilet, every passenger defecates in the open just like those who sit with their water containers on the sides of the tracks as the body waste goes right on to the tracks or the ground nearby. Thus, no city in India can logically be called ODF (Open Defecation Free) city, if it has a rail network.

ODF seems peachy word. It shall be relevant to mention here that I live in Allahabad city, a city which was declared as ODF on August 28, 2018. A certificate for the same has been issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). The Quality Council of India (QCI) has physically verified the city’s cleanliness status, subsequent to which the ODF status was given. I don’t know when, how and what they physically verified. They could have asked those who go for early morning walks, for a reality check. It seems they are just in a hurry to award the ODF status to as many cities as they can, in view of the 2019 elections.

Further about ODF, why is only the human defecating in the open a problem? What about the stray animals such as dogs, cows, pigs (especially in Allahabad)? Does not their faecal matter cause the same problems/ diseases as of human beings? Where do these stray animals, or for that matter the pet animals, defecate? Is it not right in the middle of the road or in front of your house right at the entrance? Again that same question rises in my mind, “Can any Indian city be given ODF status?’

What! I just said COW in the era of cow vigilantes. Now people may raise questions about my religion and ask about my religious status and political affiliations. Nevertheless, in villages these stray cows and her relatives/ species cousins, the buffaloes, are causing great loss to the farmers, forcing them to keep a vigil in their harvested fields and orchards. In the cities

they (stray animals) are causing road accidents and traffic jams. They may look healthy but may be carrying deadly water and food-borne pathogens, making it all the more precarious.

With a cow-loving government at the Centre and in the State, which is said to revere and worship cows and give them the status of mother, I am very hopeful that in the near future the government may announce a Gau Vriddha Pension Scheme so that people may not set their cows free to roam around, or something like the Pradhan Mantri Gau Awas Yyojna for each cow in this New India.

Till then, what is the solution? Shall we not drive or shall we tie these stray cows in the nearby government office? So that they can be revered and worshipped.

swapnesh.bioinfo@gmail.com

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.