Open defecation in cities: A faltering India story Meera Mehta , Dinesh Mehta (original) (raw)
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The Puzzle Of Open Defecation In India: A Different Perspective
This article discuss the Open defecation is one of the main reasons, why the infant of rural India are more likely to die and stunted. It is not only adversely affect the children health but also going to affect the human capital in recent future in terms of low productivity, and which lead to "vicious circle of poverty" through market failure. It is again a prestige issue for more particularly women. Most of the times during going to relax in the morning or evening, women are more likely to be sexually assaulted as compared to their counterpart male. Thus more precisely open defecation is adversely affecting the Health, Wealth and Dignity of the nation. Hence, it is demonstrated that the high open defecation is not the by-product of the high poverty rate, lack of education, lack of water, lack of access to toilet and poor governance; rather it is a direct consequence of the social exclusion on the line of caste. Therefore for the solution of the open defecation, the researchers and policymaker should focus more on caste puzzle than other factors
Economic and Political Weekly, 2014
This study identifies 11 issues that have inhibited the spread of a comprehensive sanitation programme. It emphasises the complexity of issues and helps avoid the facile targeting of the poor as deficient citizens, whose latrine practices are viewed as a "primitive" source of social disorder and disease. Recognition that many factors are involved and interrelated might also serve as a warning against patchwork policies that disregard local context in their haste to proclaim another district an "open defecation free zone".
Open Defecation in India: An Assessment of Swachh Bharat Mission 2015-16 to 2019-21
Economic & Political Weekly, 2023
Universal access to safe sanitation by reducing subnational inequality is a huge challenge for a country like India. The union government launched the Swachh Bharat Mission in 2014, intending to end the practice of open defecation by 2019. The article examines the current state and temporal changes in OD across subnational levels using data from the National Family Health Surveys 4 (2015-16) and 5 (2019-21). While the practice has decreased signifi cantly, from 38.88% of households in 2015-16 to 19.36% in 2019-21, it remains relatively higher in central and eastern Indian states. The fi ndings suggest further modifi cation of the SBM project's implementation strategies in these states.
Current Research Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities
Open defecation is a major blot on India’s overall reputation as an emerging economy as it still remains stubbornly widespread across rural India. The present paper outlines the economic and psychological aspects of toilets construction and their sustainable usage in two districts of the state of Biharviz. Gopalganj& Bhagalpur. Bihar’s performance is not up to the mark with respect to the sanitation figures among other states of India. It was found that households owning a government constructed latrine,still defecate in the open. Study evidences support a preference for open defecation; many survey respondents reported that open defecation was more comfortable and desirable than latrine use. Old people prefer going outside as they are used to this routineand do not mind defecating in the open for the rest of their lives.The study was conducted with an objective to better understand and assess the issues and strategies of behavioural change, policies present in the system and sugges...
Understanding Open Defecation in Rural India
India has far higher open defecation rates than other developing regions where people are poorer, literacy rates are lower, and water is relatively more scarce. In practice, government programmes in rural India have paid little attention in understanding why so many rural Indians defecate in the open rather than use affordable pit latrines. Drawing on new data, a study points out that widespread open defecation in rural India is on account of beliefs, values, and norms about purity, pollution, caste, and untouchability that cause people to reject affordable latrines. Future rural sanitation programmes must address villagers’ ideas about pollution, pit-emptying, and untouchability, and should do so in ways that accelerate progress towards social equality for Dalits rather than delay it.
Open Defecation: Awareness & Practices of Rural Districts of Tamil Nadu, India
International Journal of Scientific Research, 2012
In the most developing countries the open defecation is the 'way of life'. The habit of open defecation is inseparably integrated in the day to day life of the people especially in the rural areas and urban slums of India. The practice is considered as most serious health and environmental hazard. (WHO Fact Sheet, 2014).It is harder to bend the iron mind of people with regard to open defecation, which they feel that they practice over many generations. This paper is an attempt to bring out the awareness level and practices of 1800 randomly selected households from 60 panchyaths of Namakkal, Perambalur and Pudukkottai Districts of Tamil Nadu on open defecation. The study revealed that open defecation and its attendant medical problems were rampant in the community with nobody even bothering to do anything to overcome it. While open defecation was in practice, many women specially mothers (98%) did not know how to dispose of their children's feaces safely.
Urgently Required : A toilet revolution in India
Rows of men defecating in open along the railway tracks isn’t a sight which is very uncommon to an average Indian. A sight which is almost an alarm to an urgent need of a revolution required in this country to save our future generations. The revolution isn’t required just to build toilets but to convince people that defecating in open is not healthy at all. It requires a change in policy which still believes in supply rather than creating demand. There is an ardent need to change the behaviour of masses and explain them that open defecation is not safe and even small measures like using pit latrines can protect us from the deadly repercussions caused by it. With 626 million still relieving themselves in open, the dream of our new prime minister to have a “Swach Bharat” (defecation free India) by 2019 seems impossible.
Changes in Open Defecation in Rural North India: 2014-2018
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2019
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