Google launches toilet finder app in Delhi NCR and Madhya Pradesh
Joining hands with the Union Ministry of Urban Development, tech giant Google has come out with a public toilet finder application for the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi and Madhya Pradesh. Desktop, as well as mobile applications, will be made available in both Hindi and English. The service has been initially rolled out in these two states and will subsequently be made available in the rest of the country. The app will contain details of the nearest public toilets along with working hours and address information.
Why can't PM put an end to manual scavenging: Bezwada Wilson
Addressing a gathering at the Bengaluru Literature Festival, Magsaysay awardee Bezwada Wilson raised the all important question of why the government is yet to take a decisive step to put an end to the repulsive practice of manual scavenging in India. With drainage planning in shambles, thousands of people are still being forced to clean toilets manually across many towns and cities in the country. Despite having a law banning the cruel practice since 1993, no cases have been filed over the last two decades against offenders.
Strategies to improve sanitation should be tailored according to beneficiary needs to increase robustness: IIT Madras study
An analysis of WASH policies of the government over the last 15 years has revealed that robustness of a policy depends on how best beneficiary needs and barriers faced by different members are addressed. The study conducted by IIT, Madras compared WASH-sector policies of India and certain African countries and found that only around 22 percent of all policies in India could be considered as highly robust compared to 75 percent of policies in the other 10 developing nations from Africa. Identification of barriers was found to be most problematic in the Indian context.
Buxar district administration employs transgenders to motivate people to construct toilets
In a bid to improve sanitation, Bihar’s Buxar district administration has employed the services of the transgender community to spread the word about the importance of toilet usage and personal hygiene across Buxar and Dumraon towns. The campaign stresses mainly on the ills of open defecation and how using a toilet could help minimise the spread of disease among community members. The campaign has been receiving positive response with many people agreeing to construct latrines in their houses within two weeks’ time. The entire state of Bihar is working towards becoming open defecation-free by 2019.
NGT announces Rs 10,000 fine for dumping solid waste in public places
The National Green Tribunal has announced a fine of Rs 10,000 for anyone found dumping solid waste in public places across Delhi. With solid waste management becoming an enormous concern for the city administration, this move is expected to deter mindless dumping of garbage. With landfills already overflowing, the national capital generates close to 9,600 tonnes of solid waste every day. All three city municipal corporations have been given a one-month deadline to come up with a proposal to incentivise source segregation of waste to ease the problem.
This is a compilation of important sanitation-related news published between December 17 and 23, 2016.
Lead image courtesy: The Indian Express