Dear goanet readers
The following article was published on the BBC News website yesterday:
Quote:
Nearly half of India's 1.2 billion people have no toilet at home, but more
people own a mobile phone, according to the
latest census data.
Only 46.9% of the 246.6 million households have lavatories while 49.8% defecate
in the open. The remaining 3.2% use
public toilets.
Census 2011 data on houses, household amenities and assets reveal that 63.2% of
homes have a telephone.
Analysts say the data show the complex contradictions of the Indian system.
They say the census reveals a country where millions have access to
cutting-edge technology and consumer goods but a
larger number of poor who lack access to even basic facilities.
About 77% of homes in the eastern state of Jharkhand have no toilet facilities,
while the figure is 76.6% for Orissa and
75.8% in Bihar. All three are among India's poorest states with huge
populations which live on less than a dollar a day.
"Open defecation continues to be a big concern for the country as almost half
of the population do it," Registrar General
and Census Commissioner C Chandramouli said while releasing the latest data.
"Cultural and traditional reasons and a lack of education are the prime reasons
for this unhygienic practice. We have to
do
a lot in these fronts," he said.
The data also reveal that Indians now largely live in nuclear families with 70%
of homes consisting of only one couple - a
dramatic change in a country where joint families were always the norm.
The census figures also show changes in how people access information and
entertainment.
More than half the population - 53.2% - have a mobile phone.
There has been a 16% rise in the number of homes with television sets, while
the use of radios has declined by 15%.
The data show that 47.2% of households have a television while only 19.9% have
a radio.
And the reach of computers with internet access is still minuscule, with only
3.1% of the population connected.
Unquote
Readers may wish to note that in the United Kingdom public toilets have
decreased in number due to running costs and
property prices. Many have been converted to coffee bars, restaurants and
accommodation. Public toilets used to be a
great source of entertainment for graffiti writers before the Americans
transformed this art into spray painting costing local
authorities thousands to clear. We also have a belief that with good hygiene we
generate a healthy population which in
turn contributes to the economy.
During events like the Sunburn Festival where the rest of India comes to Goa
bringing with them their trademark of
defecating in the open and not washing their hands, this may be an ideal time
for promoting potty training and hygiene
standards by the Government of India working with our local authorities in Goa
for these domestic visitors to take back
valuable learning to their villages and assist in uplifting poverty.
Rose Fernandes
Thornton Heath, Surrey, United Kingdom
14 March 2012
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