{"id":113,"date":"2017-04-06T00:31:18","date_gmt":"2017-04-06T00:31:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/poiseddevelopers.com\/organica-second\/?p=113"},"modified":"2024-05-22T06:31:35","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T06:31:35","slug":"sanitation-cultural-beliefs-indian-dilemma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/poiseddevelopers.com\/organica-second\/sanitation-cultural-beliefs-indian-dilemma\/","title":{"rendered":"Sanitation And Cultural Beliefs: The Indian Dilemma"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sanitation is a vital part of human everyday life. We need to perform our bodily ablutions as a matter of routine, physiological processes to eliminate the waste from our bodies.<\/p>\n

Urine and feces are the end products of our metabolism.<\/p>\n

It is, however, also very important to properly dispose of this bodily waste for both aesthetic and health reasons.<\/p>\n

Properly disposed of feces and urine ensures a clean, odourless environment, as well as prevents diseases due to microbes, like fecal coliform bacteria.<\/p>\n

Improperly disposed of waste, on the other hand, will cause a noxious odour and be a breeding ground for diseases.<\/p>\n

Therefore, it is important to have proper sanitation facilities for everyone.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the truth is not at all as the ideal should be. Sanitation in India is in abysmal condition.<\/p>\n

Not everyone is \u2018privileged\u2019 enough to have toilet facilities at home. In fact, studying sanitation in India, which has a population of about 1.25 billion, it is found that 70% of rural households do not have a toilet or latrine.<\/p>\n

Now, like healthcare, sanitary toilet facilities are a necessity and not a privilege.<\/p>\n

Then why, in India, are so many deprived of it?<\/p>\n

To what extent can we blame administrative ineptitude?<\/p>\n

Is there another factor at play here, like cultural beliefs related to sanitation, for example?<\/p>\n

This is manifested in the failure of government schemes like the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan and the Swacch Bharat Scheme. Both these campaigns have built plenty of pit latrines in rural areas, but there are two problems with sanitation in India:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  1. Building any number of toilets is futile if they\u2019re not sustainable- that is, they don\u2019t have running water, electricity, and connections to sewerage lines for proper waste disposal. Biotoilets<\/a> are a better solution in this case.<\/li>\n
  2. The responsibility doesn\u2019t end at building toilets but also raising awareness among the local populace with regard to their usage.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Let\u2019s discuss the second point in detail. The issue of sanitation in India isn\u2019t just one of health or environment, but also a social issue.<\/p>\n

    There are religious and caste beliefs, especially in India, regarding bodily ablutions and the handling of urine and feces.<\/p>\n

    It begs a brief discussion of what these beliefs are, why they might be problematic, and why they may be preventing people, especially rural folks, from following proper sanitary practices.<\/p>\n

    India\u2019s National Family Health Survey 2005 found that only about a fifth of Indian rural households that don\u2019t openly defecate use pit latrines.<\/p>\n

    Also Read:<\/p>\n