Skip to main content

'Vibrant' Ahmedabad?: Survey shows 78% slumdwellers are without toilet, forcing people to defecate in open

State of Ahmedabad slums
A recent survey of Ahmedabad’s two slum settlement colonies, Shankarbhuvan and Nagorivad, both of them situated in the old city area, go a long way to expose the loud claims of “clean" or "swachh" Gujarat by the state’s powerful authorities. Carried out by two non-government organizations (NGOs), Manav Garima and Human Development and Research Centre, the survey suggests that in the two slum settlements surveyed, out of a total of 1,447 households, 63 per cent of households (916) do not have toilets.
On the other hand, those households which do have toilets (531), 216 households do not use them because they are “unusable”, which means that 78 per cent of the total population in the two slum areas – about 7,500 – go in the open for defecation, forcing the cleaning staff to “clean up the narrow streets manually”, said Jitendra Rathod, a senior activist of Janvikas, the NGO which supports Manav Garima.
Rathod said, “Shortage of water supply, on one hand, and extremely poor sewerage lines in the two slum areas, on the other, force individuals not to use toilets wherever they are there, as the gutter lines are more often than not found to be choked up.” Thus, as many as 40 per cent of the households, or 582, do not have any access to water supply, while 19 per cent households (279) do not have any drainage facility.
The survey further suggests that of the 916 households which do not have toilets, as many as 65 per cent or 599 households have space for constructing toilets. However, there are 35 per cent of the houseolds (317) which do not have any space where toilets could be constructed. According to Rathod, “From these data, it is possible to determine the total number of toilets, water and drainage facilities, other infrastructure to be provided.”
The survey exposes the claim of the Gujarat government about cent per cent power connection. As many 14 per cent households (197) remain in the dark at night, as they are even today devoid of any electricity. The survey, it is reliably learnt, has been handed over to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), which has “promised” to bring about necessary changes. “Officials have told us that they are already on the move, and beginning to beginning to bring about a change”, a Manav Garima activist said.
“From community observations and interviews, it has been noted that, overall, main drainage system that is currently in place does not function properly, and is the main reason why individual households do not use the facilities”, Rathod said, adding, “It was also found that availability of adequate water is a serious issue in both the areas.”
The survey concludes, “It is possible to begin construction of individual toilets in households where space is available. At the same time, water supply should be increased and the drainage system expanded. If required, a new drainage system should be put in place. While it is necessary to educate and change the behaviour of the community, this would depend on the availability of individual toilets, adequate water supply and proper drainage system, otherwise people will continue to defecate in the open.”

Comments

TRENDING

Dalit rights and political tensions: Why is Mevani at odds with Congress leadership?

While I have known Jignesh Mevani, one of the dozen-odd Congress MLAs from Gujarat, ever since my Gandhinagar days—when he was a young activist aligned with well-known human rights lawyer Mukul Sinha’s organisation, Jan Sangharsh Manch—he became famous following the July 2016 Una Dalit atrocity, in which seven members of a family were brutally assaulted by self-proclaimed cow vigilantes while skinning a dead cow, a traditional occupation among Dalits.  

Global NGO slams India for media clampdown during conflict, downplays Pakistan

A global civil rights group, Civicus has taken strong exception to how critical commentaries during the “recent conflict” with Pakistan were censored in India, with journalists getting “targeted”. I have no quarrel with the Civicus view, as the facts mentioned in it are all true.

Whither SCOPE? Twelve years on, Gujarat’s official English remains frozen in time

While writing my previous blog on how and why Narendra Modi went out of his way to promote English when he was Gujarat chief minister — despite opposition from people in the Sangh Parivar — I came across an interesting write-up by Aakar Patel, a well-known name among journalists and civil society circles.

Remembering Vijay Rupani: A quiet BJP leader who listened beyond party lines

Late evening on June 12, a senior sociologist of Indian origin, who lives in Vienna, asked me a pointed question: Of the 241 persons who died as a result of the devastating plane crash in Ahmedabad the other day, did I know anyone? I had no hesitation in telling her: former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, whom I described to her as "one of the more sensible persons in the BJP leadership."

Why India’s renewable energy sector struggles under 2,735 compliance hurdles

Recently, during a conversation with an industry representative, I was told how easy it is to set up a startup in Singapore compared to India. This gentleman, who had recently visited Singapore, explained that one of the key reasons Indians living in the Southeast Asian nation prefer establishing startups there is because the government is “extremely supportive” when it comes to obtaining clearances. “They don’t want to shift operations to India due to the large number of bureaucratic hurdles,” he remarked.

Unchecked urbanisation, waste dumping: Study warns of 'invited disaster' as khadi floods threaten half of Surat

An action research report, “Invited Disaster: Khadi Floods in Surat City”, published by two civil rights groups, Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti and the People's Union for Civil Liberties, Surat, states that nearly half of Gujarat's top urban conglomerate—known for its concentration of textile and diamond polishing industries—is affected by the dumping of debris and solid waste, along with the release of treated and untreated sewage into the khadis (rivulets), thereby increasing the risk of flood disaster.

Two decades on, hunger still haunts Gujarat: Survey exposes stark gap behind poverty claims

A Niti Aayog report , released about two years ago, estimated that in Gujarat — which our powers-that-be have long considered a model state — 11.66% of people are "multidimensionally poor," a term referring to an index that seeks to estimate "multiple and simultaneous deprivations" at the household level across three macro categories: health, education, and living standards.

Boeing 787 under scrutiny again after Ahmedabad crash: Whistleblower warnings resurface

A heart-wrenching tragedy has taken place in Ahmedabad. As widely reported, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane crashed shortly after taking off from the city’s airport, currently operated by India’s top tycoon, Gautam Adani. The aircraft was carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members.  As expected, the crash has led to an outpouring of grief across the country. At the same time, there have been demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and the Civil Aviation Minister.

English proficiency for empowerment: Modi’s SCOPE vision contrasts Amit Shah’s remark

While Union Home Minister Amit Shah may have asserted that soon a time would come when those speaking English in the country would “feel ashamed”, it is ironic that Narendra Modi, when he was Gujarat chief minister, had launched what was called the SCOPE programme, actively involving the University of Cambridge to provide opportunities to the youth of Gujarat to "become not just job seekers but job creators (entrepreneurs)."