People in no-toilet villages indirectly consuming excreta: Govt

New Delhi In a village of 1200 people not having toilets each inhabitant has to indirectly consumethrough contaminated food about three grams of each others faecal matter every day says a government reportThe Elementary Book on Sanitation in Gram Panchayats brought out by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj warns that foodand beverages available in such villages are contaminated with at least one per cent of excretaThe government which launched an ambitious campaign to provide toilets for all in five years says around 65 per cent of rural people practice open defecation in the country resulting in exposure of human excreta to environmentIt is estimated that on an average a village with a population of 1200 and without toilets produces 300 kg ofhuman faecal matter every dayImagine the amount of pollution to the surrounding environment and water due to the excreta that is left untreated the book saysIf we assume that the food the villagers eat and beverages they drink are contaminated by even one per cent of the 300 kg of excreta they are indirectly consuming through their contaminated food about three grams equal to onechocolate of each others faecal matter every day it saysThe book is meant to assist the elected representatives and functionaries of gram panchayats to keep their villageclean end open defecation manage liquid and solid waste in ecofriendly manner encourage people in hygienic habits and pay special attention to hygiene in schools and anganwadisIt says that human excreta contain a huge number of diseasecausing pathogens and there is great scope for thesepathogens to enter the human system and food through air flies fluid feet fingers fields animals and motorvehiclesThe Prime Minister launched an ambitious programme in October to make the country free from open defecation in fiveyears spending around Rs two lakh croreThe Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin aims at attaining a 100 per cent open defecation free India by 2019 the 150thbirth anniversary of Mahatma GandhiThe main objective of the programme is to bring about an improvement in the general quality of life in the rural areas by promoting cleanliness hygiene and eliminating open defecation and accelerate sanitation coverage in rural areasThe main activities under the mission are incentives for individual household latrines construction of communitysanitary complexes solid and liquid waste management projects information education and communication capacitybuilding monitoring and evaluationAccording to 2011 Census figures only 327 per cent rural families have access to sanitation facilities in the country whereas the findings of the NSSO 2012 survey reveal that only 4060 per cent rural households have access to toiletsThe government has enhanced the total assistance for rural household toilet from Rs 10000 to Rs 12000 According to a parliamentary panel report tabled in the Lok Sabha recently the practice of open defecation in India is due to combination of factors the most prominent of them being the traditional behavioural pattern and lack of awareness of people about the associated health hazardsIn its report on drinking water and sanitation the Standing Committee on Rural Development even noted the factthat sanitation is mainly a mindset issue based on sociocultural issues and habit