Bengal's Nadia to become first open defecation-free district in country, claims Mamata Banerjee
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday announced that April 30th will be observed as Nirmal Bangla Divas—an initiative to achieve open defecation-free districts in the state. According to the state government, West Bengal’s Nadia district is set to become country’s first district that has become freed of open defecation. “On April 30th, we will make a formal announcement of Nadia becoming first Indian district to earn Open Defecation Free (ODF) status. Hooghly and Bardhaman are placed on second and third rank respectively,” Banerjee claimed.
The state government has further claimed that it has planned to set up individual household latrines (IHHL) across 8.47 lakh households in 2014-15—the highest in the country. “As part of the Nirmal Bangla (Clean Bengal) Mission, as many as 3.47 lakh toilets were set up across Nadia. These were constructed not just in the interiors of Nadia, but also in the urban centres and townships. By March 2015, all households in the district had access to toilets,” an official statement said.
UNICEF rings alarm against open defecation
According to UNICEF, slow progress on sanitation and the entrenched practice of open defecation among millions around the world continue to put children and their communities at risk. Some 2.5 billion people worldwide do not have adequate toilets and among them 1 billion defecate in the open – in fields, bushes, or bodies of water – putting them, and especially children, in danger of deadly faecal-oral diseases like diarrhoea, claims UNICEF. India, with 597 million (half the population) practising open defecation, also has high levels of stunting. Globally, some 1.9 billion people have gained access to improved sanitation since 1990. However, progress has not kept up with population growth and the Millennium Development Goal target on sanitation is unlikely to be reached by 2015 at current rates of progress.
Green Sanitation Foundation
In the wake of this announcement, iamin contacted Green Sanitation Foundation, a voluntary organisation in Kolkata that works against open defection to find a solution to the lack of proper sanitation facilities in India. As we interacted with Green Sanitation Foundation’s director Sudip Sen, he shared the concept of‘green toilets’ with us. Sen’s organisation strives to improve hygiene and sanitation in India through the use of Bio Toilets.
What are Bio Toilets?
Green Sanitation Foundation has launched Bio Toilets. These toilets can convert human waste into a non toxic, non-contaminating water compatible substance by maintaining the environmental standards. The process of conversion is facilitated by the application of multi strain bacteria culture. This process involves the aerobic forms of bacteria. “The major advantage of these bio toilets is that they do not need a sewage system to operate. They treat solid waste and convert it to liquid form, which is harmless and does not contaminate groundwater, soil, etc,” said Sen. Here’s a video that features bio toilets:
https://youtu.be/wOrosqIt05k
Cost factor
As claimed by the NGO, the cost of installing a Bio Toilet ranges between Rs.25 - 30,000, which includes training on O&M, communication efforts, etc. “Multiple bio toilets will cost more. GSF is also working on developing solar powered community bio-toilets,” added Sen.
Source: http://www.iamin.in/en/jadavpur/news/kolkata-ngo-designs-bio-toilets-battle-open-defecation-58620
