Sanitation Ki Ore Badhte Kadam
MUMBAI, 6 October 2015 – Asia Society in association with Dalberg brought to its platform practitioner’s perspectives on sanitation and its perception in India. Joining us in conversation were Mathews K. Mullackal, State Coordinator, World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Program; Jagdish Acharya, Founder, Cut The Crap; Nirat Bhatnagar, Senior Project Manager, Dalberg’; Sudhir D. Thakre, Former Secretary of Sanitation, Maharashtra Government; Varad Pande, Associate Partner, Dalberg.
Spanning from subsidies to the social status associated with toilets, this nuanced discussion brought forth perceptions from rural and urban India on open defecation. Thakre began the discussion by highlighting how merely building a toilet is not a solution to the problem. The need of the hour is “total sanitation” that encompasses other aspects of sanitation like waste management and hygiene, he said. Thakre also highlighted the importance of incentive based government schemes over subsidy based schemes to improve the usage of toilets. Mullackal reflected on his experience in Rajasthan stating that affordability of toilets is not a cause for concern, the determining factor in the decision to build a toilet is the priority given to sanitation among other household expenses.
Acharya brought to the fore the varying dimensions of caste and its impact on sanitation. Drawing on his experiences in advertising to state that celebrities garner attention to a cause but do not necessarily espouse credibility on the issue. Highlighting the success and limitations of carnivals pertaining to sanitation such as the Nirmal Bharat Yatra, Bhatnagar highlighted how a one-off event creates awareness but doesn’t perpetuate behavior change. Peer to peer communication, incentives and awareness were arrived upon as some of the most effective ways to combat open defecation. Pande pertinently concluded the discussion by emphasizing that we must “stop counting toilets and start counting usage” in the battle against open defecation.
Video: Watch the complete program (1 hr., 22 min.)
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