Sanitation and Hygiene

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December 13, 2022 WaterAid India’s partnership with USAID and Gap Inc. benefits 2400 villages across 7 districts of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra

WaterAid has focused on establishing community-led water quality monitoring & surveillance (Image: Anil Gulati/India Water Portal Flickr)
October 15, 2022 Synthesis of water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) spatial pattern in rural India: an integrated interpretation of WaSH practices
People in rural areas lack potable water, and use unsafe sanitation and hygiene facilities (Image: Sebastian Dahl)
December 2, 2021 Public toilets and choice of work for women
Separation between women and men’s toilets (Image: Rajesh Pamnani; CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
October 15, 2021 Interventions to promote hand hygiene should be designed based on an understanding of what people care about, says report on ‘State of the world’s hand hygiene’
Girls learn the value of hand-washing (Image: Kristen Kelleher, USAID, Pixnio)
October 4, 2021 Lessons from the Swachh Bharat Mission experience
Pop culture icons like Gabbar Singh are painted on the walls of a toilet complex in New Delhi (Image: Project Raahat, Enactus)
July 6, 2021 If trends persist, billions will be left without critical, life-saving WASH services, says a SDG monitoring report

Between 2016 and 2020, the global population with safely managed drinking water at home increased from 70% to 74% (Image: Pxhere)
Land of water, no more
Tripura has 35,000 litres of water annually per capita. That is double that of the national average. So why are its people still facing water shortage? Posted on 02 Feb, 2014 10:11 PM

The name Tripura originated from 'Twi' meaning water and 'Para' meaning land. The indigenous population, which is about 32%, refer to Tripura as Twipra, meaning land of water. However, the state no longer seems to be living up to its name.

Soil erosion raises river beds in Tripura
The profitable toilet
Eco-sanitation, or compost toilets have helped achieve nearly 100% sanitation in Rupauliya, a small village in Bihar. Posted on 27 Jan, 2014 12:29 PM

When Panchamlal Mahto was a toddler, he would frequently squat and poop as the urge took him irrespective of where he was. His mother would take a handful of ash and sprinkle it over the 'gift'. The ash would absorb the liquid, enabling the whole mess to be easily swept away. Back then, Vinita was still not born.

An Eco-san toilet with a kitchen garden next to it
More people power equals more progress
Cuttack, in Odisha, overcame the bane of open defecation, dirty water and unclean surroundings thanks to participation and involvement by the locals. The 'Silver City' is now truer to its name. Posted on 20 Jan, 2014 09:42 AM

Clean surroundings, clean water and a clean toilet – as much as Cuttack, in Odisha is a thriving centre of trade and commerce, it lacked these three basic necessities. An exploratory survey was conducted in 2009 to understand why the city hadn't reached a better state of cleanliness.

Community based management (Source: NFI)
Improved sanitation can reduce diarrhoea cases by 47%
Policy matters this week: Diarrhoea cases can come down with improved sanitation, SC tells Centre to appoint Regulator for environment matters and new water scheme for rural areas. Posted on 14 Jan, 2014 06:41 PM

Improved sanitation can reduce diarrhoea cases by 47%: World Bank

Sanitation means good health (www.thinkaboutit.eu)
Big steel firms illegally mined Rs. 45,000 Cr worth
News this week: Commission finds that big corporates mined Rs. 45000 Cr worth iron ore, Delhi residents protest waste incinerator and POSCO's clearance to be revalidated. Posted on 14 Jan, 2014 06:40 PM

Corporates like Tata Steel, Essel Mining violate green laws in Odisha

Illegal Ironore mining in Odisha (Indialatest.org)
Despite government funding, only 30% urban slums have toilets
News this week: Toilets in only 30% urban slums, pipeline being laid close to Golconda fort and 99 illegal dyeing units unearthed in Tirupur Posted on 08 Jan, 2014 12:03 PM

Welfare schemes not of much use to urban slums

Toilet-less in urban slums (Source: bbc.co.uk)
Water News: 2013 in review
Beginning with the Kumbh Mela and moving on to natural disasters like the floods in Uttarakhand and the cyclone in eastern India, water made big news throughout 2013. Posted on 06 Jan, 2014 12:16 PM

Kumbh Mela left its trash behind

Shiva statue, Kedarnath (Source: ibtimes.co.uk)
Drinking water quality worst in Kerala: Report
News this week: NSSO says drinking water quality worst in Kerala, migratory birds desert flooded wetland and villagers protest against hydel project in Uttarakhand. Posted on 29 Dec, 2013 04:50 PM

Kerala scores worst in access to potable water: NSSO

House wells not safe? (Source: Wikimedia)
Placement sought for 'Post Graduate Diploma WASH students', Tata Institute of Social Sciences-TISS
These first batch 'WASH warriors' from diverse backgrounds are ready to work on the challenges in the WASH sector with utmost commitment and professionalism.
Posted on 28 Dec, 2013 09:20 AM

For more information on Tata Institute of Social Sciences-TISS, click here.

How do rural India's toilets measure up?
The Total Sanitation Campaign now called the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan is the country's flagship programme for improving rural sanitation, with a spend of Rs. 7000 crore every year. How is it faring? Posted on 28 Dec, 2013 12:21 AM

India's rural sanitation programme- Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) was started in 1999, with a goal of eradicating open defecation. Renamed to Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA) in April 2012, the focus and approach of this programme was supposed to undergo a paradigm shift.

Toilets constructed under Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan
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