SHE creates a WAVE of change in Trichy

We are so used to turning our eyes away when we see somebody defecating in the open that we fail to reflect on this widespread practice, prevalent much more in India than in other countries. It is not only visually disturbing but has hazardous implications for public health in our cities.

Some people may engage in open defecation out of habit or laziness, but for the large part of the population of urban India that lives in slums, more often than not, it is not a matter of choice. They have no private toilets and no access to community toilets that actually function. Damaged septic tanks and broken drainage pipes make community latrines unusable. Children go to the nearby drain or wherever they find open spaces. Women wait for nightfall to answer nature's call, and then too only in groups for fear of assault. It is difficult to maintain hygiene for children as they typically do not have access to water to wash their bottoms and soap to wash their hands.

Tiruchirapally (Trichy to most people), the famous temple town of the South, is the fourth-largest city in Tamil Nadu, and is located on the banks of the Cauvery with a population of just over a million — of which 25 per cent live in slums. Trichy has 211 "approved" slums and as many as 75 "unapproved" slums which are located on railway land, Government of India land, and land belonging to the Waqf Board and other private owners. Until the end of the 1990s the slums of Trichy, with their sanitation and toilet facilities in an appalling state, were no different from the rest of the country. But things began to change about 10 years ago, and Trichy has not looked back since. The city was ranked 6th in India in the sanitation ranking of Indian cities by the ministry of urban development in 2009-10.

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