It’s hard for most people to imagine a life without toilets but for some, this is their reality. Around 2.6 billion people in the world don’t have access to proper sanitation and the health risks are very alarming for everyone. The lack of sanitation facilities can be one of the main causes of many life-threatening diseases in India. Today, India makes sanitation its priority to eliminate problems affecting public health and safety. Mahatma Gandhi had once said, Good sanitation is more important than independence.
The Indian Toilet Summit, held last November 19, was a collaboration of policy makers, researchers, non-profit and corporate organizations to discuss and share best practices in sanitation sector in order to reach the aim of Open Defecation Free India as a contribution to the new venture of Swatchh Bharat by the Prime Minister of India which was organized by Research and Sustainable Development Consortium. Two of the major challenges stated is changing the perception and collective norms explained by Mr. Vinod Mishra.
The process of this movement may have been slow but change doesn’t happen in one night. If India was successful in putting up their SEZ constructively, pushing for a cleaner environment shouldn’t be impossible.
