Govt shifts focus to sustaining sanitation coverage

The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation prepares a rural sanitation strategy to maintain open-defecation free status and clear up waste issues

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan: What are the barriers for toilet construction

Ability to raise the initial funds, lack of space in urban slums and lack of awareness is hampering the sanitation programme

Swachh Bharat Mission: Haryana’s race for ODF tag pushed people in debt traps

Villagers were forced to construct toilets, but were not given subsidy promised under SBM

Sewers are gas chambers where manual scavengers are sent to die: SC

Apex court comes down heavily on govt on the issue of manual scavenging

Niligiris' journey to being ODF led to it embracing organic farming

The hill district witnesses a successful example of closing the nutrient loop in a sustainable way

Simply put: Dalit children beaten to death for defecating in open

Swachh Bharat Mission: The last push

Over 100 million toilets in five years took a lot of effort; the change is showing now

Thirty-year journey to ODF

Sanitation programmes remained a mirage until the government shifted focus to information, education and communication

Swachh Bharat Mission to be a continuing challenge

The fight for open defecation-free status is far from over

Swachh Bharat Mission: Haryana still defiant

The claim of an ODF-free Haryana flies in the face of cases of class division, dysfunctional toilets and administrative inaction

Swachh Bharat Mission: Sustenance is the mantra

Changing a habit requires time, effort and constant motivation

Swachh Bharat Mission: Persuasion pays off in Uttar Pradesh

Benda village sets an example by achieving ODF status before the state despite facing a severe drought

Swachh Bharat Mission: Sustaining ODF a multi-faceted process

Bangladesh took 15 years to become ODF, while Thailand took 40

Swachh Bharat Mission: ‘Inducing behavioural change was a task’

Parameswaran Iyer, secretary, Department of Drinking water and Sanitation, spoke to Down To Earth on how intensive information-education-…

Govt launches new framework to sustain India’s ‘100% ODF status’

The Centre will proclaim India to be 100% ODF on October 2 and the new framework envisages its strategy to maintain that status

Swachh Bharat Mission: Nilgiris sets example of community effort

More than 100,000 tribals, dalits and women raised a loan of Rs 20 crore to build toilets, after the incentive of Rs 12,000 per household was …

Swachh Bharat Mission: Women take the lead in Himachal Pradesh

The state, with almost 60% of panchayats headed by women, tackled open defection by resolving the water crisis. It was declared open-defecation …

Swachh Bharat Mission: An outstanding achievement, but challenges remain

Including people who still lack toilets, overcoming partial toilet use and retrofitting sustainably unsafe toilets are some of the massive tasks ahead

Cheering for toilets, with caution

The country did successfully build 100 million toilets, but this success must be made sustainable

India lags in drinking water, sanitation and hygiene facilities: Study

The Harvard University study is based on the performance of India’s 543 parliamentary constituencies on — unsafe disposal of child …

Simply put: ODF India

Modi declares India ODF

Sustaining the status the next big challenge

ODF status will mean nothing without faecal sludge & septage management

With faecal sludge treatment still in nascent stage in India, toilets will add to the load of untreated sewage being disposed in water bodies

Is the Ganga basin drowning in shit?

A slew of loopholes means that the Ganga and its tributaries will continue to receive wastewater and faecal sludge

India becomes open-defecation free but many challenges ahead

The challenge now will be mainly be to sustain India's open-defecation free status