The practice of open defecation must end. The first step is to convince people to change their old habits
In 2013, five people died due to dengue in Kukusvada, a village located near Chorvad in Mangrol Taluka of Junagadh district in Gujarat. Before this incident, in 2011, many people in several villages of this taluka suffered from high fever.
The problem started with the breeding of mosquitoes in open spaces. Due to the lack of a toilet system, people practice open defecation in the entire village. The problem was so grave that it gave birth to several diseases like cholera, malaria and dengue. lack of awareness towards sanitation and hygiene led to this situation. The villagers did not know to how to deal with the situation.
At this point of time, intervention by various non-profit organisations proved to be life changing for them. The initiatives taken by these organisations helped the villagers get rid of unhygienic practices. They gradually moved towards a healthy lifestyle.
Coastal Salinity Prevention Cell and Aga Khan Rural Support Programme India, were the two organisations that changed the scenario in these villages by spreading awareness on cleanliness. The very first task was to educate the villagers about the importance of having toilets and why is it necessary to curb the practice of open defecation.
To construct a single toilet in the village, a total sum of Rs15,000 to Rs17,000 was spent. Of which, Rs4,600 was paid by the Government under the Total Sanitation Project and a sum was also contributed by the Coastal Salinity Prevention Cell.
However, the remaining expenditure had to be borne by the beneficiaries. “Those belonging to economically weaker sections took up the responsibility to construct the toilets themselves. The work was on and money was arranged as it was required,” said Kirit Bhai, the programme assistant at AKRSPI.
These non-profit organisations helped the people of about 20 villages including Mangrol, Maliya Hati and Veraval to set up toilets in their houses. Sangavad, a village situated in Mangrol Taluka of Junagarh district has a population of 2,200 people. These consist of communities like Koli Patel, Rabari, and Dalit et al. This village now has toilets in a majority of its houses.
However, it was not an easy task to convince the villagers. They were so used to defecating in the open that they had refused to adopt the idea of constructing toilets in their houses initially. Various modes of communication were adopted to propagate the message of cleanliness among them. Street plays, school programmes, counseling sessions etc helped change the mindset of the people.
One day, a family took the initiative of constructing a toilet in their house and soon others too got inspired to build toilets in their houses as well. “The older generation of the village was not ready to accept the idea of having a toilet inside the houses. But the awareness and willingness of the younger generation helped overcome their hesitation and now they are benefitting from the newly constructed toilets,” said Merubhai Bachubhai Ram, member of Water Committee of Chhatroda.
Ninety per cent to 95 per cent of the families of eight villages have built toilets under the Coastal Area Development Programme. This has made life of womenfolk in these villages much easier. “Earlier, we had to wait for the dark to go and relieve ourselves. It was very difficult to hold it for long as it gave us pain and other problems but we just could not go out of shame,” rued a local woman who is now happy to have a toilet in her own house.
Physically, disabled and senior citizens too got some relief after the construction of toilets. Harigarbhai Aparnath whose left hand and leg remained paralysed for the last 20 years, was dependent on his wife Pushpaben who would always accompany him to the open ground. But now life is not as difficult as it was.
Popular Hindu Morari bapu also stated, “If there is one less temple built, it will do, but construction of toilets is inevitable.” This set up has not only helped eradicate diseases, fear and hesitation from the lives of villagers but has helped increase self respect amongst them.
(Courtesy: Charkha Features)