37 million in Odisha defecate in open!

BHUBANESWAR: At least 37 million people in Odisha defecate in the open! The just released Census 2011 for sanitation and water indicate it. The total households, as per the Census, stand at 96,61,085 out of which 75,35,646 - 78 per cent - do not have toilets. Taking five persons in each household, 3,76,78,230 people do not have access to latrines which means they defecate in the open.Odisha seems to have added another dubious distinction to its name.The scenario in rural Odisha is worse. At least 85.9 per cent households do not have any form of a latrine. In urban areas, the figure stands at 35.2 per cent.Among the states and Union territories, only Jharkhand shares this dubious distinction with Odisha. In the neighbouring state, 78 per cent households do not have latrine whereas in Bihar, it is 76.9 per cent.DRINKING WATER: Sanitation apart, availability of drinking water is another huge challenge. The census reveals that only 13.8 per cent households have tap water at their homes, while 61.4 per cent depend on hand pumps and tube-wells and 19.5 per cent on wells.Though the dependence on well is dropping, the increase in provisioning of tap water is not commensurate. In rural Odisha, the situation is even worse. Just about 7.5 per cent of households have tap water.Appalling as it may sound, in a State which is haunted by malnutrition, cholera and diarrhoea, only 10 per cent of all the sources of water used for drinking is treated. For, only 72 per cent out of the 13.8 per cent tap water accessed by households is treated.The survey also points at another tragic reality that just 22.4 per cent households have water sources on their premises, while the rest have to bring water from outside. At least 35.4 per cent households bring water from sources away from their habitations.“The census says that health and hygiene of the rural population is more at risk than that of the urban Odisha. A State which boasts of investments in industries and mining has failed miserably in providing water and sanitation cover to its people,” Ranjan Panda of Water Initiatives Orissa said.The Government must pay attention to convert Odisha from an ‘open defecating state’ to a ‘defecating with dignity’ state, Panda said.