With the help of the Association for Volunteer Action and Services (AVAS), the residents of Sudhamnagar, a slum community in Bangalore, now have household latrines and a safe drinking water supply.

Although Bangalore is home to some of India's richest people, over a half a million of its population live in almost 400 slum communities. Like most of them, Sudhamnagar had no access to clean water or basic facilities. That changed however when AVAS, a local NGO dedicated to improving the well-being of the urban poor, stepped in.

Helped by AVAS, residents identified their most urgent needs. AVAS and the local WATSAN committee then negotiated with the authorities for the installation of water connections and construction of public toilets. The toilets were so popular that people started to build them in their own homes. After some initial problems, every household was also supplied with clean drinking water.

The community’s efforts demystify many myths about sanitation, including that it requires expensive and high-tech solutions, and that the poor have more important needs.

Related news:

• Water rights: access to water means access to education in the slums of Bangalore, India, Source South Asia, 19 Nov 2007;
• Microfinance: improving access to water supply and sanitation in urban India, Source South Asia, 08 Dec 2008;
• India: on course for total sanitation by 2016, Source South Asia, 14 Oct 2008

Contact: Association for Voluntary Action and Service (AVAS), India, tel: +91-80-23516227, avas@vsnl.com

Source: Ma. Christina Dueñas, ADB, Feb 2009

Tags: on-site sanitation, sanitation, south asia, water distribution