Disasters like cyclone or flood have now become an inseparable part of our life. Every year we are affected by flood water and have to take shelter in nearby cyclone shelter or other makeshift arrangements at school buildings or other concrete houses, till the water recedes. This year also we faced a lot of problem during flood which relates to our health and hygiene,” says Geeta Sahu, a resident of Subarnapur village under Balikuda block in Jagatsinghpur district.
Elaborating their days during flood, she says, “It is always a nightmare for all the women and adolescent who are forced to stay and share the same roof with other male members of the panchayat for minimum 4-5 days till water recedes. The major concern for us is not that the same roof is shared but that the toilets meant for us are also used by the male members. So we have to go for open defecation.
During flood it is very difficult to search dry land for defecation. And during menstruation days we face more troubles, if we have to stay in cyclone shelters or other makeshift arrangements for a longer period.”
Minati Swain of Krushnaprasad block in Puri district has a different experience during flood situation. She explains, “Because of its topography flood water remains in this area for nearly a month and we have to stay nearby cyclone shelters or school buildings for those days. Here the problem arises due to water logging. All the tube wells are polluted with flood water and we have to depend on Government supply water, which is meager to meet the demand. So apart from cooking and drinking there is hardly anything left for bathing and other personal use.”
She narrates further, “During menstruation period we don’t get sufficient water for cleaning and washing; so we depend on stagnant flood water to wash clothes for next day use. Also we don’t get space to dry our washed clothes and we have to spread them in a corner of the shelter veranda and due to moisture in the air the clothes don’t dry out properly. So we use unclean and wet cloth for next day.”
Regional Centre for Development Cooperation (RCDC) senior programme manager Bimal Pandia explaining the situation during disaster, says, during evacuation, the villagers carry some important items in a cloth-tied bundle like-documents, jewellery, cash, cloth, dry food etc. But this remains for a few days. Even though Government providesthem relief material but it contains only food. In some places they provide clothes, but clean cloth or sanitary napkins to use during menstruation period was never included in the relief material. He also adds, “As every year the coastal belt is hit by both flood and cyclone, the Government should adopt disaster mitigation plans toprovide a healthy atmosphere for the evacuated persons”.
There is a need of policy level intervention in the relief packages, says Water Aid India policy coordinator Bikash Ku Pati, adding that, in cyclone shelters proportion of toilets meant for women is less and mostly used by children and male members because of their double capacity. So women are mostly dependant on outside for defecation. On the other hand, sanitary napkins or disposable clean cloth is not a part of relief package. He also emphasized toilets are mostly affected during floods so there is a need to construct high rise platform toilets and tube wells in flood-prone areas. However, according to him not only flood and cyclone, scarcity of water is another problem which puts adverse effect on women’s health. Because water is inadequate for drinking and cooking in western Odisha where this problem is acute, women face a lot of problem. They hardly use water for bathing and cleaning which badly affect their health condition.
In the western districts like Balangir, Kalahandi, Sambalpur and Nuapada, there is an acute shortage of water during summer. Women have to walk even 10 km daily to bring water for the drinking and use of family members. Because of water scarcity women mostly compromise with their personal requirement of water.
Minakshi Purohit, secretary of Kalyan, a non-profit organization working in Balangir district, explains, “It is true that due to scarcity of water during summer season women don’t bathe for months; even their intake of drinking water becomes less, because their preference goes to male members of the family. Also, they neglect their hygiene during menstruation due to scarcity of water”.
On being asked about the preparedness and relief related to sanitation and menstrual hygiene of the women in general and adolescenet in particular, Rural Development Principal Secretary Pradeep Kumar Mohapatra, who was also the Special Relief Commissioner from 2011 to 2014, expresses, “To meet the sanitation problem during disaster, we are now focusing on construction of community toilets in the villages so that people, especially women, can use it during disaster. These community toilets will be constructed with the financial support of the Government of India, the State Government and the panchayats. Also we have instructed to construct elevated toilets in the disaster-prone or regular flood affected areas to avoid submergence during those days”.
He also adds, during the cyclone Phailin nearly 1 million people were evacuated to cyclone shelters and other makeshift arrangements at school buildings and other constructed buildings. We have provided sufficient water pouches to avoid any water-borne diseases. Besides, we have provided sanitary napkins to the women and the adolescents during this cyclone time. It was also decided to take care of menstrual hygiene so that their health condition will be maintained properly.