Sanitation, cleanliness indicators of 500 cities to be recorded and rated by Swachh Survekshan 2017

A survey to assess cleanliness and hygiene parameters of 500 cities with a population of over 1 lakh was kicked off by the Union Ministry of Urban Development on January 4, 2017. The Swachh Survekshan 2017 is an improvement over the 2016 edition where only 73 cities were ranked based on their sanitation and hygiene performance. Conducted by the Quality Council of India, the survey will incorporate directly observed data in addition to the information collected from the municipal bodies as well as citizen feedback and independent assessment. Status of open defecation, toilet construction and municipal solid waste disposal will be assessed, among others. 

Bizarre threat to open defecators in Madhya Pradesh

Not long after a senior citizen was forced to clean his own faeces after having been found to have defecated in the open in Ujjain, a rather bizarre advertisement for the Swachh Bharat Mission has been pasted all over Madhya Pradesh’s Meghnagar panchayat. Hoardings assuring "sure death for those found defecating in the open" have been erected all over the panchayat. In late December last year, an elderly man who claimed to have been suffering from diarrhoea was assaulted by sanitary workers for defecating in the open. An enquiry committee was set up by the Ujjain municipal corporation to look into the incident. 

Trichy city becomes the first corporation in TN to be declared open defecation free

The city of Tiruchirapalli has been declared open defecation free (ODF) by the Union Ministry of Urban Development following a survey conducted by the Quality Council of India. Trichy is so far the first and the only corporation in the state to be accorded this status. The certificate is expected to be renewed every six months. Random survey of community toilets in the city was conducted to ascertain their usability and maintenance. In the Swachh Survekshan survey of 2016, Trichy was adjudged the third best city in the country for cleanliness following Mysuru and Chandigarh.  

Tumakuru woman on a mission to create model gram panchayat where all households have toilets

Bhavya Rani is on a mission to transform rural Tumakuru. Appalled by the lack of sanitation facilities in Tumakuru district, Rani, after some thorough groundwork, zeroed in on Shettigondanahalli gram panchayat to create awareness about good sanitation practices and the importance of using toilets. Though reluctant initially, the villagers, as well as the panchayat officials started paying heed to Rani’s words. Today, around 500 houses across 24 villages in the panchayat limits have toilets from a mere eight houses in 2010. Rani aims to make this a model panchayat where every house is provided with a latrine and have people using them regularly. 

e-toilets planned across the country with corporate support

e-toilet pioneer Eram is planning to install around 1500 toilets across the country in 2017 with corporate support. Eram has been instrumental in establishing around 2000 e-toilets so far in 20 states since it started work in this area five years ago. Tata Consultancy Services has promised support in installing nearly 600 e-toilets in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh schools. e-toilets are equipped with automated features such as automatic pre-and post-flush as well as platform cleaning options. A mobile app has also been developed to indicate the location of the nearest e-toilet to users.

This is a roundup of important sanitation related news published between December 31, 2016 and January 6, 2017