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http://www.nation.co.ke/lifestyle/DN2/The-indignity-of-open-defecation-in-the-21st-century/-/957860/2659386/-/9o4ot5/-/index.html D efecation in open is widely prevalent in poorer parts of the world. It leads to inconvenience, torture of making their way to a distant field for sick and aged,  pollution of water bodies, several health problems and security issues particularly for women. There have been cases of women venturing out alone in the dark to ease themselves that have been way laid by a gang, raped and even murdered in the worst of cases. Presently an active program is underway in India led by the Narendra Modi Government to eradicate this practice through the building of squat flush toilets at homes across rural India. The government offers financial help for the purpose. However in talking to villagers, this author discovered that villagers are spending much more than the assistance provided and this is slowing down the program. Huge expenditure is being ...

A proposed revolutionary new scheme to end open defecation in India A New Scheme is proposed here for consideration by the Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Government of India While indoor toilets, covered drains and sewerage systems were developed in India five thousand years ago in the famed Indus Valley civilization ( see here ), widespread poverty in the intervening centuries has led to many homes without a kitchen or bathroom across India. The outdoors is used for both. This works fine from a health point of view for kitchens but it is a disaster for public health when the outdoors is used as a toilet. It has also led to security issues especially as regards women. It is not safe to venture out after dark. Need: While the need has been felt to prevent open defecation in rural India, there is a greater need for schemes that create incentives for the task. The present note describes a lottery scheme that has the potential for creation of...

The Septic Drain T hose who live in developed countries may be surprised to learn that a large part of the human population lives without a toilet. Put crudely they simply piss and shit out in the open. In India it is estimated that half the population does that. This is all the more tragic in a country that invented toilets, bathrooms and covered drains five thousand years ago in the Indus Valley civilization ( http://alienaccount.blogspot.in/2013/09/indus-valley-and-atlantis.html ). Since then though, a lot of piss and water has passed under the bridge with a slide into poverty and decay. Aside from the inconvenience of having to run out into the fields every now and then, the phenomenon of open defecation poses some serious issues that have only increased with an increase of population density on the planet. First are health issues. When it rains the waste is washed into drains, rivulets, rivers, ponds and lakes. Water sources are then charged with disease causing bac...