VISAKHAPATNAM: For all the hype surrounding Visakhapatnam as the largest city and future economic capital of Andhra Pradesh, nearly 14 per cent of the 20 lakh people here do not have access to individual toilets. It might be shocking for many but about two lakh people still go for open defecation.
At a time when the world celebrated ‘World Toilets Day’ on Wednesday and the central government embarked on the ambitious project of ending open defecation in India by 2019, it has been discovered that Visakhapatnam has about 68 open defecation spots, especially near the slums. The problem is rampant in many areas, particularly the beach fronts such as Peda Jalaripeta, Jodugullapalem, Fishing Harbour, Appughar, Lawson’s Bay Colony and Sagarnagar, apart from several vacant lands and railway tracks.
As per the 2011 Census, about 86 per cent people in Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) area have access to toilets. Of the remaining, four per cent are dependent on public toilets and 10 per cent has no access to toilets. “Though the GVMC took initiative to construct about 33 public toilets including e-toilets across the city, not many people, particularly slum dwellers, are using them.
Instead of paying `1 or `2 at public toilets, they prefer open defecation. Unless the public toilets are made accessible for free and awareness is created among slum dwellers, there is no end to the problem,” said Ch Ramakrishna Rao, a social activist.
The central government had sanctioned funds for the corporation to construct individual toilets for each household in the city, eight years ago. But there had been no major progress. Later, the GVMC took an initiative to construct
public toilets including 28 e-toilets with the help of philanthropists but the effort did not reach a logical conclusion due to delay in sanction of funds and bureaucratic apathy. In June this year, a Noida-based consultancy firm was appointed by the Union Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation to undertake a study and prepare an action plan for implementing a clean sanitation programme for the city. Again, there has been no major progress.
Dr Kutikuppala Surya Rao, who organised the World Toilet Day 2014 celebrations with the theme of ‘Equality and Dignity’ here Wednesday, said that India has the highest number of people practising open defecation at 597 million or 47 per cent of the national population. “Women and girls are at a risk of harassment and sexual abuse when trying to use public toilets or find somewhere to defecate in the open. It is also a major reason for girls to drop out of school as they do not have access to a safe and clean toilet,” he said.
When contacted, GVMC chief medical officer MS Raju admitted to the open defecation problem and said that efforts are being made to construct more public toilets in addition to the existing 198 public toilets in GVMC limits.
“Apart from seeking financial assistance from philanthropists for construction of the new public toilets, we will soon launch Namma Toilets on the lines of Tamil Nadu shortly. If not for Hudhud cyclone, a few Namma Toilets would have been already inaugurated,” he added.