My sanitized country

What paves the way for reaching the MDG? Lets turn a few pages and behold. One of the parameters that were regarded obligatory was the supply of improved drinking water sources and sanitized facilities. By achieving the MDG 7, which aims to supply safe drinking water to all, 2015 was set the target. But how much of that has been achieved? Take a present look. As per the State of the World 2007, a household of five needs at least 120 litres per day to meet the daily activities, but to our utter distress, we find that these people are compelled to walk a long distance to fetch water. But lets have a look at the picture of India. India’s rural picture cuts a sorry figure. The UN cynicism about India’s success in reaching the goals by 2015 now seems to have some true base. With only seven years left to reach the golden goal, its time to scrutinize India’s achievement in regard of sanitation and providing clean water. By the MDGs, the UN set the target that by 2015 they should reduce to half the number of people living without access to pure water and sanitation. According to the UN, the number of people living without access to water is 1.2 billion and that the number of the people living without access to sanitation is 2.4 billion. But the way, India has progressed, it seems that this goal has a long way ahead. For example 30% of the total population in Kolkata lives in slums.
If you open the television, at one time or the other you will see that the Indian government is showing that they have built toilets in villages, then take a second look. They will show if only one toilet has been built- no matter whether it functions or not. WaterAid India , Delhi based NGO found out that the toilets that were built in the villages were sometimes put to other uses- “ …often as the best-built, only tiled structure in the village homes. In many Indian villages , they have been used to tether cattle.”
So what lies at the core is the problem with the fund. Sanitation schemes have been dependent on subsidies, which are not reaching the people. The World Bank has criticized the Indian government because the sanitation programme doe not take into its purview the good of the general people however the problem is not only with the fund, but also with the spirit. Today we allege the Government of not doing anything, what we have done ourselves? Today we ridicule Bangaladesh, call Pakistan as our worst foe. But how many of us has ever taken a look at the sanitation figure of Indian and compared it with Bangaladesh and Pakistan ? If done, we will see that less than five percentage of the total Indian rural populace has access to sanitation, while Bangladesh has 40% and Pakistan has 45%. The status of India at present is just a margin above Cambodia. Out of 28 Indian states , only seven has launched ‘Swajaldhara’ and only Tamil Nadu has completed a project.
So at this juncture what we need to do is to and what we lack is integrity. Availability of water has every time been a hindrance to a road to development. The strategy should be multi branched for assembling resources. We need to empower the NGOs and need to support the local active groups. We need to build toilets more in numbers especially. The frenzy of privatizing should be shed and more effort to promote the rural groups should taken for the advancement of rural folk.