In last over 66 years of independence, has India ever thought of talking about sanitation? It was never treated with any priority. Toilet, like house, cloth etc is also a civilisational norm. It is so much so that today they say that if there is no toilet, there is no civilization. Open defecation is a slur on any society. Contaminated water is the source of a large number of diseases, claiming mainly lives of children. A study says that out of deaths caused by water borne diseases, 79% are children below 5 years of age. A recent World Bank report says that while only 5% of Bangladeshis defecate in open, it is 57% in India. Doesit cause any concern in any quarter here? Can any country afford to ignore it?
Better sanitation means that the society is economically strong, cultured and above all healthy. However we never gave it any importance, treating it as a waste. The sociologists and economists have made it adequately clear that the investment in sanitation also brings benefits on economic front. A minister of Japan had earlier expressed that the investment in sanitation is as important as in defencefield. The latest finding is that with the improvement in sanitation, the gross domestic product (GDP) of a country grows by 45%. That comes through improved health, less diseases and less expenditure on medication and less absenteeism leading to productivity enhancement. A survey tells that the sanitation industry, which includes sanitary wares, drainpipes, construction material, soaps, infecticides etc amounts to six billion dollars per year with the prospect of its growth to 15 billion by 2020. Any reasonable person will agree that with improved sanitational environment, our country can attract more tourists and earn the much needed foreign exchange. Thus, we should not commit the mistake of limiting this term to only smelling toilets.
If India aims at becoming a world power, with agricultural and industrial production augmentation, we shall have to pay proper attention to this neglected sector as well. For the achievement of this objective, we shall have to exert pressure on the new govt to frame the much needed National Sanitation Policy.
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