Urban ladder: How ODF India tries to manage faecal sludge

In the absence of adequate rural treatment plants, a few states rope in underutilised urban facilities 

New evidence emerges on how Mayas fortified maize, built indoor toilets

Scientists find maize starch spherulites , a unique byproduct of nixtamalisation, as well as tapeworms at a Maya archaeological site

What a waste: Reviving India’s sanitation systems

Indians often confuse toilets with sanitation; but they are mere repositories to receive waste    

Odisha needs to make apposite effort to have toilets in all its school

Who cares for toilets in school? 34% of schoolchildren in Odisha do, finds new study

NFHS-5: Why figures on improved sanitation shouldn’t be taken on face value

The latest NHFS-5 figures on improved sanitation are restricted to a select number of households and individuals and have been taken from a …

Quality of life in informal settlements: Basic sanitation services a luxury

The SC/ST community had the highest proportion of those who did not have access to a toilet

Is India really open-defecation-free? Here’s what numbers say

15% of the total population in India defecates in the open in India, according to WASH report 2021

Open-defecation-free Kandhamal: Only if the toilets would work

Toilets built under Swachh Bharat Mission did not have twin-pits for excreta collection or water supply, claimed villagers

The struggle to get inclusive education to south Odisha’s tribal children

Already marginalised, COVID-19 has had a huge impact on tribal groups, especially children in Koraput; but civil society is trying its best to …

Simply Put: Not a hunger strike

3 in 5 persons at farmer protest sites near Delhi have to defecate in open: Survey

Inadequate provisioning of toilets compromising health, nutrition and hygiene for all protesters, especially women, survey by Jan Swasthya …

Bihar elections 2020: Who is talking about safai karmacharis?

The Bihar govt refuses to identify manual scavengers; the latter continue to face abuse and death threats 

Shocking irregularities found by CAG among toilets constructed in govt schools

Toilets were non-existent, partially constructed, did not have water, were not hygienic and had many other shortcomings

Clean public toilets: A matter of national honour

A survey by the Union housing ministry showed that 55% of public washrooms were either dirty or completely unusable in Delhi

COVID-19: How distant laws, uneven measures afflict sanitation workers

The pandemic has further aggravated the dichotomy of livelihood and safety of sanitation workers 

Why alluvial flood plains of north Bihar need alternative sanitation system

Flood is a recurring threat to the sustainability of open defecation free status in Bihar. Unique toilets, built on elevation, can show the way ahead

Swachh Bharat Mission Phase II guidelines released

Safe toilets, with well managed black and grey water, are the need of the hour, particularly in rural areas

Sanitation workers on COVID-19 front lines: How to save the warriors?

Several incidents in the last few months have shone spotlight on abysmal conditions under which sanitation workers function — without …

Fast track work on ODF+ and ODF++: Parliamentary panel to govt

Less than 30% of cities certified as ODF+ under Phase 2 of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban-2), the panel’s report found

Union Budget 2020-21: Constant decline in Swachh Bharat Mission allocation

Output indicators of the allocation unclear

Open defecation in Nigeria: Faecal sludge is country's clicking time bomb

The country, which has the largest number of people defacting in the open, needs to frame a safe toilet technology and treat its faecal sludge, …

Only 71.3% rural households have access to toilets, shows NSSO data

The report's findings trashes the grand claim of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that India is now open defecation free

India becomes open-defecation free but many challenges ahead

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

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: ‘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-…