Toilets built, but where’s the water, ask R’sthan villagers
J AH AZ P UR( B HI L WAR A ): On August 18, G au ru Ki sh na (65) was among six people arrested in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara district. His crime: he’d done his morning routine in the fields, as he has done all his life.
After spending several hours in a lock-up, he was released on bail of ₹10,000.
Six weeks on, Gauru still goes out for his ablutions, even though the house in which he lives with his sons has a toilet. “It’s my compulsion. There is not enough water in the house for using it in the toilets. And besides, there is no drain, so the pit stinks,” Gauru told HT.
At present, 67% gram panchayats of Rajasthan are officially declared open defection free (ODF). In terms of toilets in rural households, the state stands 10th in India.
In the last three years, 1,93,447 toilets were constructed in urban areas and 66,28,849 toilets were constructed in rural areas in Rajasthan alone. In rural areas, 6597 gram panchayat and 27,720 villages were self declared ODF. However, Gauru’s village Shrinagar Chanwari, in which 30% households have toilets, has just one tube-well for its 800-odd residents. The womenmakeseveral rounds to fetch water in pitchers. Drinking, cooking, bathing and the cattle are much above toilets in terms of priority for water, villagers point out.
“The land is rocky and too hard for digging pits so many people simply gave up half-way. Another problem is that the pit starts stinking after a few days and this also discourages, particularly the elders, who are more comfortable going outdoors to relieve themselves,” Dev Karan, a social worker told HT.
A pit toilet is a method of collection of human waste, used for composting, controlled decomposition, or waste disposal used often in rural areas with no sewer system.
“The government makes big claims, but has failed to provide even the basic infrastructure in the village. They give ₹12,000 after three months (for building a toilet). Where will I get the money from?” Bansilal (38) who was among those arrested, told HT. Like most other villagers, Bansilal works as a daily-wage labourer in farms.
However, sarpanch Mausmi Devi Meena claimed there is sufficient water, and the villagers are just looking for an excuse to not use the toilets. “The record of Shrinagar Chanwari is the worst. While 74% households have toilets in the gram panchayat, only about 30% households have toilets in village Shrinagar Chanwari,” she told HT.
The administration is under pressure as they have been given the target of making the entire tehsil open defecation free (ODF) by March 2018. Jahazpur SDM, Kartar Singh, said that the administration has been creating public awareness about sanitation and hygiene under Swachh Baharat Mission but harsh action is taken when villagers don’t pay heed.