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Senior Offcial Param Iyer Says Large Number Of People In India Still Defecate In Open Despite Equipped With Toilets
Underlining grim facts about the sanitation levels in states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha, Param Iyer, Secretary in the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation said that Swachh Bharat Abhiyan isn’t only about building toilets but it is about bringing a behavioral change
Highlights
- 30% of households in Bihar have toilets but 13% still defecate in open
- One-third of homes with toilets in Jharkhand still defecate in open
- 40% of the households in Odisha have toilets but 20% don't use these
New Delhi: A large number of people in India defecate in the open despite having toilets at home, a senior government official said on August 30.
Only 30 per cent of the households in Bihar have toilets. 13 per cent of them are not being used, Permeswaran Iyer, secretary in the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, said in a statement.
He said 37 per cent of the households in Jharkhand are equipped with toilets. But one-third of their users prefer to relieve themselves in the open.
In Odisha, 40 per cent of the households have toilets but 20 per cent of the families do not use them, Mr Iyer said.
Unlike earlier sanitation programmes, the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is not a toilet construction programme but a behaviour change mass movement, he said at an event organised by NGO Sambodhi.
While it is relatively easier to construct roads, bridges and airports, bringing about a change in human behaviour is “complex”, he said.
The government is now focusing more on bringing a change in human behavior, the official said.