Stories, sustainability & sanitation

The seminar ended with a session by Seetha Gopalakrishnan, environmental journalist.
The Press Institute of India organised a seminar for young journalists  LN Subramanian
The Press Institute of India organised a seminar for young journalists  LN Subramanian

CHENNAI: We are at a juncture where soon, water and sanitation will become hot topics of discussion,” said Padma Priya, researcher on water and sanitation-based issues, addressing the audience at The Press Institute of India (PII) in Taramani. PII had organised a seminar for young journalists on how to report sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene.

Padma explained that in the first phase of the Swachh Bharat Mission, over 101.6 million new household toilets were built in rural areas along with over six million household toilets and over five lakh community toilets built in urban areas. With this, the government believed that they had properly addressed the problem of sanitation in the country. “By 2016, they realised that the number of medical cases reported due to unsanitary lifestyle had still remained the same,” Padma said. They realised that despite providing toilets, they hadn’t mapped its usage.

“Our researchers at the Water and Sanitation Rotarian Action Group (WASRAG) studied areas where toilets had been installed and came to the conclusion that the people preferred to defecate in the open. There was zero investment and a great way to dispose of the waste, and use it as manure. We realised that we had to make a behavioural change in order to not only get people to use toilets, but also proactively participate in its upkeep and maintenance,” said SN Srikanth, ambassador, WASRAG, and the next speaker at the seminar.

He explained that they had tried to rule out reasons why people didn’t want to use toilets and concluded that it had nothing to do with poverty or literacy. It was their behaviour that had to change. They began searching for solutions. “We tried to tap into disgust and shame while explaining the requirements of the toilet,” he said. In 2016, WASRAG started focusing on issues like women’s safety and human dignity. The idea worked and WASRAG is now working to spread awareness. “Social media and digital marketing have been reliable and strong tools we have depended on to spread the message,” said Srikanth.

The seminar ended with a session by Seetha Gopalakrishnan, environmental journalist. She emphasised that fact-checking and source credibility must be followed by young journalists. “There are multiple ways a journalist can look for a story. The idea is to fact check data, ensure that you personally experience the facts and to remain ethical,” she said.

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