The Indian state of Andhra Pradesh has the lowest number of working toilets in the country. This is despite the state heading the list of states constructing the most toilets, some 420,000 since 2002. However, almost 70 per cent of these toilets are not used and have been turned into kitchens, restrooms, stores or play areas for children. As a result, the state now heads another list: 85% of its people - the highest in the country - still defecate in the open.

There are several reasons why the toilets are not being used: people do not know how to use them, they are badly built and are not user-friendly. The funds provided by the central government (Rs 700 crore = US$ 142 million / € 111 million) and the state (Rs 250 crore = US$ 51 million / € 39 million) to build 15 million individual household sanitary latrines (IHSL) by 2012 are 'literally going down the drain,' said one official.

In addition, a special Communication and Capacity Development Unit set up to train village officials and unskilled masons and inform people on how to use latrines, has not achieved these objectives.

Related news:

• India, Maharashtra: drastic measures to make people use toilets, Source South Asia, 19 Jan 2009;
• India: on course for total sanitation by 2016, Source South Asia, 14 Oct 2008;
• India, Sikkim: first state to achieve 100% sanitation, Source South Asia, 15 Dec 2008.

Related web site: India Sanitation Portal

Source: Patan Afzal Babu, Times of India, 26 Dec 2008

Tags: on-site sanitation, policies & legislation, south asia