Open defecation free: State govt claims fall flat

Naina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, June 23

Thirteen-year-old Radha along with other women takes a walk along the railway tracks to answer nature’s call while hiding in the bushes. Every day, at the crack of dawn an urge to ease themselves haunts women of Dhandari Kalan. The area reeks more than usual during the daybreak as nearby places on either side of the rail tracks remain speckled with faeces.

The much-hyped “Swachh Bharat” campaign seems to have been aborted here. What’s more? The tall claims of Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu of making Punjab Open Defecation Free (ODF) by June 30 have fallen flat.

The struggle is real for these women with risk of lives involved. While expressing disgust over the condition of women living in the area, Reema (40) said, “We all gather near the railway line before the sunrise so that nobody watches us while urinating. We are used to excreting in the open now although none of us wants to do it by choice.”

“There has been no change in our condition for the past 100 years. Our families have been living amid stench for ages now. Our eyes cannot foresee what can be achieved now,” she added.

“Many politicians have visited this place and promised us to construct toilets and improve conditions of the slum, but no one has fulfilled what they said. They all come here when elections approach. We want the government to construct toilets for us,” she said.

Leelum (35) said, “Many a time, we have to face embarrassment when a vehicle passes by. Now, people have started turning away their faces when they see a woman defecating in the open. We have no choice except to brave odd circumstances. We always send an elder woman with girls to ensure their safety.”

The women here cut wood from trees and sell it to consumers. Each family has five to six children. Some are studying in government schools while others have dropped out.

Radha, who is studying in a government school said, “We are taught in schools to maintain cleanliness. However, the situation here is dismal and crying for attention. Toilets should be built for our convenience.”

Bathing is no lesser than an obstacle for women living in slums here. Due to lack of toilets, women here take bath in the open at backyard of their dwellings. “Without toilets, we are compelled to bathe in the open. We keep the place hidden with cloth whenever anyone from us takes bath here,” said another woman.

Deputy Commissioner Pradeep Agrawal said, “The Swachh Bharat Mission has been segmented into urban and rural. The rural mission is looked after by us and has been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF). The Ludhiana Municipal Corporation is responsible for the urban Swachh Mission. The work for individual and community toilets has been taken up by the MC.”

Ludhiana Municipal Commissioner Jaskaran Singh said, “Our target is to make the urban area ODF by June 30. Out of the 75 Wards, we have already made 55 ODF. Five community mobile toilets have been procured for the areas along Buddha Nullah and parts of the city. As many as 200 toilets will be installed within a week in all the remaining areas.”

Meanwhile, Mayor Balkar Singh Sandu said, “We will look into the problem of these women and solve it as soon as possible.”