Toilets are yet to be considered an integral part of houses in rural areas of Namakkal

Superstitious beliefs, religious sentiments and vasthu shastra are making construction of toilets in rural areas of Namakkal district in Tamil Nadu an uphill task. P. Aruna (32) and her husband Periyasamy (45), a truck driver of Parali panchayat, stopped constructing a toilet and filled up the leach pit with debris. “An astrologer came to our house and told us that we should not dig any pit or else our five-year-old boy will have a bad time,” the couple said.

As part of a programme being implemented by the Aruvankadu-based non governmental organisation, the Rural Development Organisation (RDO), to enhance awareness about the benefits of individual toilets among people in the rural parts of The Nilgiris district, a book titled ‘A Revolution in Sanitation in The Nilgiris’ was released here on Monday.

Participating as the chief guest, Marie Larose, director, Recruitment and Awards, York University, Canada, released the book.

It may be hard to believe, but it is true. Anyone travelling the length of the rural belt of Delhi that stretches from Badarpur border in South-East Delhi all the way to Narela in the northern periphery of the city, will not find a public toilet along the way. The reason being: all these years no one constructed any.

And while many believe the rural population knows best how to use the fields and forests for answering the call of nature, such an approach has not helped the cause of rural women, for whom not a single public toilet exists.

WaterAid and Plan International Pakistan along with other civil society organisations across Pakistan joined hands to launch a yearlong campaign calling for government to keep its promises to impro

The state rural development department has joined hands with Unicef Gujarat to develop statewide communication and advocacy strategy for promotion of open defecation-free communities and good hygie

The United Nation today lauded the government’s efforts for taking major initiative in installing ‘a toilet in every household and public school and institution’ in the country.