UN REPORT: INDIANS HAVE ACCESS TO CELL PHONES THAN TO TOILET

Response to Devi:

Sometimes it is most ridiculed of activities that starts to make immense sense.

And now look at indicator Mobile Phone: For cab drivers, maintenance activity jobbers and many such categories it is a tool that promises better utilization of their available time and ease of contact.

Toilet: The same category has no control over building of toilets in public spaces, the houses they visit for repair jobs may not allow them to use the one in-house so what alternatives are left for this class?

Thus the report is easily may be unintentionally highlighting priorities:

Priority of this mass category brings to to opt for mobile to better incomes. So while money making a personal activity is felt needed. 

Priority of PLANNER and Manager is not to look at needs of this section can we say. Constructing Toilets a Planning objective or Humane activity or community oriented activity is missed. 

Mr P-rak,

Am sure you have not traveled a train entering any urban Indian city in morning or have not had a chance to have a look out of the window. And you may change your opinion.

It is not about Indian or western system it is about fixing priorities and mobile is considered important to connect and make money while sitting next to a rail line and ogling are both urban related.

Rural India may still in most cases have checks and balances in place.

i do agree with the report...even the beggars today use mobile phones....there are people who cannot afford their basic amenities still they give preference to the costly phones...i think there should be more awareness programs coz there are people who don't bother to keep the surroundings clean of local sanitation premises...once they enter a multiplex or mall they start behaving...to achieve true development positive response needs to be called from people of different arenas...may it be their necessity or their neighbor's it harms their own nation

I am surprised see your veiws.Do you know half of the population is suffering from worms children are most affected Gober should be used but they burn it

Old habits seldom go.we Indians of rural area have an old habit for going for morning walk and toilet..now things have improvedbut you can see cell.phone in every hand it is matter of sorrow   even after 60 years our most of people are without toilets .

You are wrong. Probably you have not seen or studied. I know the situation at least in Bangalore. The Civic Body just do not bother about building Toilets. All the Pay and Use Toilets that are available in few places are just not reachable because these are built in places where vehicles cannot bve parked within 5 minutes walking distance and are in conjected places. Water supply is another problem. More than that number of such facilities available are not sufficient. The governments programmes for building community toilets in rural areas is another failure. Officials do not know where to build these toilets and you require land to build these toilets and land is a scares commodity in Metros. All the problems are because of poor planning lack of foresight, and corruption. In many cases money is drawn, Utility certificate is given and toilets are built only in paper. Even the NGO funded pay and use Toilets are not located properly because land is not available at most wanting locations. Problem in India is facilties are planned with out proper study to determine the need, locations and feasibility. Even if data is collected it is not done properly. There is no mechanism to collect data required for planning. Take for exaample the census operation. One can hear lot of publicity that census started with CM's residence or Governers Residence etc. Is there any need to start census with CMs residence or from a celebrities residence.? and give it a big oublicity? WHen it comes to collecting the data (Answers to the 35 quetions) in Most cases it is not collected properly. People should be told why it is necessary to provide factual data and how these data will be used for planning and development and not for victimising. Toilet programme is not new. I was associated with building community toilets under govt programme in the 90's They relaes the money and will just give the name of the benificiery village or town. No body knows where is the land to build these toilets, in most cases. Lees said the better.

Though it may seem embarrassing, we cannot escape from this fact! Predominantly India has been facing a problem of open defecation.
Almost 80% of major diseases like Cholera, Diarrhoea, Malaria, etc.,
as per WHO report, are happening due to lack of sanitation and poor
safe drinking water.

Sulabh International, Lions Club, Rotary Club, etc. are really playing a major role in addressing the colossal concern.  But, that is not enough.  We require over 60 million sanitation facilities to cater to around 39% rural population and around 13% urban population. Ministry of Rural Development in the past 2005 had a Central Rural Sanitation Scheme to commemorate International Drinking Water and Sanitation Decade.  A great policy paper had been  prepared with the help of experts.  They had included School Sanitation and Hygiene Education *SSHE" in order to induce attitudinal and behavioural changes towards the relevant sanitation practices in the society. 

We need a much more larger involvement.  Every citizen should be involved
in the process.  With great difficulty, India had eliminated the role of
scavangers, which looked so inhuman, but the practice was on for several
decades.  Likewise, if we involve every individual in the process, this
alarming situation can also be overcome.

Suggestions:

Like Education Cess, we need to have a Sanitation and Safe Drinking water Cess. Under CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) sheme, allocate at least 1% of  profit after taxes to build a proper sanitation facility in every village.  This fund should be monitored by the Corporate consortiums, such as, CII, FICCI, etc. who should be made accountable for such tasks.  Ask the Central and State Governments to pool in the allocated resources to build a CORPUS.  This CORPUS, together with the Sanitation Cess, CSR contribution should be pooled and made available to create a robust model, in consultation with NGOs who have spread their wings across the globe, viz., Sri Sathya Sai Sansthan, Brahma Kumaris, Baba Ramdev, Red Cross Society, Christian Missionaries, Aga Khan Foundation, Melinda Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation, to mention a few.

The current no of Mobile is in excess of 370 million in India. Regarding the sanitation or for that matter toilets though the Government is in the process of creating the same all over the Country nut unfortunately as a matter of habit still our people use open areas for toilets more so in interior villages. The pattern is changing but it will still take some more years before our village folks will start using the toilets which are now made inside every house in Jharkhand, Bihar & Bengal may be in other states too.

More mobile phones - indiates growth of income in people becaus of their hard work

Less toilets - indicates failure of Govt by not providing adequate amenities for people

Makrand... generally we always agree with eachother's views. I have a slight difference of opinion & it may be a little'Off-Track'.

I agree with U that  quite some Toilets are being set-up... The precise reason for not using them & prefering 'Open Air Toilets' is their Maintenance.

They are so badly kept, that even educated & people with good civic sense are forced to USE the Open Air spaces.

Both these issues need to be addressed ... MAKING TOILETS & KEEPING THEM CLEAN & USER FRIENDLY !

Dear Arunangshu,

Even if they dig out sixty year old report it may still be very valid for most of India. The bitter fact is we have not moved on human aspects.

India is not Lutyen's  New Delhi alone, may I add.

Makrand, have to disagree with you

What objective if any would be served in maligning us when we have enough of them occupying seats of power to malign every aspect of human existence.

We surely need to carry national pride, yet we must make efforts to ensure we work on shortcomings and correct them. Try moving in any direction in an Indian city and you may fail to find a loo before you have grey hair and especially a ladies public utility. It is a real truth that we must own and make efforts to rectify soonest.  To be frank people coming from developed countries to India come with a preconceived notion of entering third world and hence already soft on expectations. Truth is most of our resources instead of being used for nation building have found way to rather long pockets of a few.

Thanks to lack of values and respect for independence, a democratically mandated Royalty has got created that treats citizens as AAM AADMI.

Thus the privileged Corners most for self consumptions and does a favor by letting AAM AADMI survive on pittance.

If we are not forthright about our weaknesses we may never want to correct them is what I dread most.

Thanks for the referral Mr.Manojkumar.

No other go, I have to support it.

our people need more awareness on hygiene and how to keep our surroundings clean with a view to avoid infection due to bacteria.

If Sulabh, Rotary etc have to build toilets and collect Rs 0.50 - Rs 2 from user then why we should pay tax at all in this country. These organizations instead of constructing toilets if they use their might to decepline the politicians and the government to provide basic aminities to the people it will be better. They should not do a job which Government is supposed to do. Why are we paying tax then Is it for the enjoyment of Politicians? These organizations are doing a grat disservice to this country by trying to do what government is supposed to do and getting honoured by the government for that. Governments have started some times calling it as PPP mode that is Private public participation mode.

Yes I agree with the statement " Indians have access to cell phones than to toilets". Take for example the silicon valley of India - Bangalore: You will find cellphones every where some people have 2-3 cellphones, one office cell phone, one for local calls and the third one for std and international calls. you will also find cell phones with street vendors of vegetables and eatables and cart vendors of gods blessings, and beggers. But there are no Toilets. People once used all Road sides and compund walls of big buildings as toilets. corners of staircase as spittoons. Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike (The civic Body of Bangalore) recently started painting walls of all streets with paintings so that people will not use these compund walls as toilets any more. But I really dont know where people go now? May be they may have to carry bottles and do it there and dispose of as soon as they reach office or home.

Nice topic and it is shame. We talk about our culture and here it is.

It is not known how can be a civilization starting from Mahenjodaro & Harrappa lead to the most un civilized culture. Living with out basic amenities for thousands of years compelled the people not to think beyond the available nature. I think, providing good toilets in schools in remote areas, slums etc. and proper teaching of use will change the attitude in long run.

Hey good debate.....

Thats true Indian people are becoming crazy on mobile phones than their basic needs. They spend lots of money by getting high end mobiles which is of no use for them. This should be reduce and they should try to meet their basic needs first. So people should have access to things that will help them rather spoiling them.

:)     

YES ... UNFORTUNATELY ITS TRUE !

For a moment, lets forget this UN Report and CHECK IT OUT our self...

Go to a very Busy & Popular Traffic Signal or a Junction. Look all around you, YOU will find a Cell Phone in the hands of almost every person who is there... walking, passing, standing, in vehicles etc. Then take a walk for at least 50-100 metres on ALL 4 ROADS which lead from the Crossroads... Try & Search for Toilets. HOW MANY CAN YOU LOCATE ?

This itself will be an answer to this Debate & will Confirm the fact that the UN Report is based on facts & is not made to malign India at large.

This state of affairs continues right from the Metro Cities to the B,C,D Towns & right down to the Villages. You will find a Villages talking on the cell phone & Urinating in the 'Open' ' God's Toilets...

THE SUPERFAST TRAIN OF INDIAN PROGRESS... HAS LEFT BEHIND QUITE A FEW BOGIES ... IN THE HURRY TO ACHIEVE FAST PROGRESS.

Happy Debating Friends !