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Towards Improved Access and Use of Toilets in Karnataka: Status and the Way Forward

Alarmingly, 3.6 billion people in the world do not have access to safe sanitation. In order to raise awareness on the need to address and tackle the global sanitation problem, the United Nations observes World Toilet Day on 19th November every year. Access to safe sanitation facilities is an important prerequisite for health and hygiene and a dignified life. Realising the importance of sanitation, Karnataka has initiated several programmes for the improvement of sanitation. Against this background, the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bengaluru, organised a webinar where the faculty members presented findings of their research and policy implications that emerge from these studies.

Prof. D Rajasekhar, Director, ISEC, welcomed the participants and Dr. A. Ravindra, IAS (Rtd.), the former Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka, chaired and moderated the discussion. Dr. Ravindra remarked that in India the situation of sanitation gained momentum after the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission during 2014-15. Despite this, sanitation as a whole still lags behind in rural and urban areas. He also said that although there has been increase in the construction of public toilets, they are inadequate. He quoted Mahatma Gandhi’s significant statement ‘Sanitation is more important than Independence; unless we get rid ourselves of our dirty habits and have improved latrines, Swaraj can have no value for us’.

Prof. D. Rajasekhar, Director of ISEC, noted that over 71% of samples households in rural Karnataka were having an access to individual toilets. This is revealed by a study on Swachh Bharat Mission carried out in rural Karnataka. As compared to 2014, overwhelming large majority of the sample households constructed individual toilets, especially in Chamarajanagara and Davanagere. However, the situation continued to be grim in Gulbarga wherein a majority of the households were without toilets. Two important factors affecting the access to individual toilets are high construction costs and space constraints. In general, irrespective of the ownership of individual toilets, the households do not share the toilets. Where public toilets were available, their use was, in general, low (except in Dakshina Kannada) because of their poor maintenance. He suggested customized awareness suitable to the needs of the region and democratization of awareness so that sanitation programmes focus on people.

 

Dr. R. Manjula, Assistant Professor, Centre for Decentralisation and Development, ISEC, dwelled upon ‘Sustainable use of individual household toilets in rural Karnataka’. She argued that sustainable use of toilets was hindered by distance of toilets from the house, poor quality of toilet construction, lack of facilities in the toilet. Over 92% of sample households having access to individual toilets were using their toilets. This proportion was 100% in developed district (Dakshina Kannada) and the least (68%) in backward district like Kalaburagi. Overall, more women use toilets regularly. Only 8% of households reported that they did not use toilets because they were converted as storage places and bathrooms, lack of toilet-use culture, water shortage and construction inadequacy. Of the households having access to individual toilets, 88% of the households stated that they do not practice open defecation. The proportion of households practicing open defecation was 40% in Kalaburagi, 16% in Davanagere and 13% in Chamarajanagar despite having individual toilets.

Dr. Manjula noted sustainability potential of toilets constructed under government programmes was relatively less as compared self-funded toilets. Hence, there is need to increase the assistance amount to Rs.40,000. Secondly, emphasis should be on behavioural change through awareness and education, and provision of rainwater harvesting to promote toilet use. Third, the process of declaring a grama panchayat as open defecation free (ODF) should not be based on ‘what is in the book’ and should be on ‘what is practiced at the ground level’.

Dr. S. Manasi, Associate Professor, Centre for Research in Urban Affairs, ISEC, presented her findings on ‘Usage and Access to ‘Toilets in Urban areas – Problems and Prospects’ from research study on Bengaluru. She highlighted that among the slums surveyed, 40% of the slums had inadequate number of toilets, thus affecting access, leading to open defecation. Despite having access to water, 33% of slum dwellers found that water is insufficient.  Major concern was poor operations and maintenance. 44% of households were unable to use the toilets due to problems of toilet damage by rodents and termites, over flowing of pits during rainy season and pit collapsing due to heavy rains.  Only 89% and 65% of public and community toilets, respectively, had caretakers. About 60% of the toilets had repair work attended within two days when raised a complaint by caretakers and for the rest, the remaining took 3 to 24 days.

 

Dr. Manasi concluded that toilet access and usage will improve if proper infrastructure is provided, operation and maintenance is improved and hygienic condition is better. She suggested few policy of prominence such as sustainable use of toilets viz, Operations and Maintenance to be give due prominence, Need for public/community toilet guidelines, Upgrade Quality and improve aesthetics for welcome appeal, improving data and information systems, addressing concerns of sanitation workers, innovation needed in cleaning technology, design, IEC. Besides, stakeholder involvement in implementing need-based interventions is crucial.

Dr. Channamma Kambara, Assistant Professor, Centre for Research in Urban Affairs, ISEC, made presentation on ‘Safety and Privacy Issues of Toilets for Women’. Based on primary Survey conducted across 8 zones of Bengaluru, she found that 78% and 8% of women faced safety and privacy issues in public and community toilets, respectively. Reasons for poor quality of toilets are the following: 56% women complained of not having doors to toilets, 41% noted that door locks are improper and 3% reported that toilets are close to liquor bar affecting the access. To overcome the inconveniences, 31% postponed defecating to reduce frequent use of toilets and reduced the intake of food and water. This affected their health; 50% of women complained of stress, 47% reported frequent stomach upset, 3% suffered from urinary tract infection. Along with these, the cleanliness and hygiene, and poor lighting were also matters of concern, affecting pregnant and aged women as the floors are slippery making it unsafe and inconvenient for women. Limited timings of the toilets also added to their problems.  Location, distance, approach road affected the use and access of women as it affected their privacy and safety.

She suggested that gender mainstreaming of sanitation facilities is important wherein women not treated as passive recipients but as active partners. They have to be included in the design and construction of toilets and other related programs. Sex disaggregated data are needed to understand the needs and demands of women. Introduction of family cards will be of help for unlimited toilet visits in a day. Creating awareness on toilet use, and disposal of sanitary pads to avoid clogging are important.

 

Finally, Dr. Ravindra congratulated all the panelists for taking up this very important topic for discussion as sanitation is very vital and is also related to environmental issue. He noted that although the Swachch Bharat Mission has brought out several interventions, it is important to focus on issues of people besides the infrastructure.