RISKS INVOLVED

The major risk, which urban centres of

developing nations are facing is the the wrath of nature. Overconsumption of natural resources without any means or technologies for replenishing them have caused scarcity of these resources e.g. land, water and clean air. In addition, the process of industrialization poses threat to eco-systems where the urbanization and migration of populations to urban centres has seriously impinged upon the basic needs of human life.

ECONOMIC GROWTH- INDIA

India has the second largest number of people in the

world. The Indian economy has been growing rapidly and the 10th Plan (2002-2007) clocked the highest growth rate (7.2%) of any plan period to date. While the large cities are bursting at their seams, small and medium towns in the country are stagnating. Major reason for such a growth in 1980s was a shift from agrobased economy to industrial economy. This economic activity will continue to draw more and more people to the cities. Lack of priority to safe confinement and disposal of human excreta poses significant health risks manifest in the sanitation challenge facing the nation today.

WATER AVAILABILITY IN INDIA

If we look at the present scenario, we are leading

towards crisis. About 85 % of rural population in India is solely depended on ground water, which is depleting at a fast rate. In the urban areas though about 60% of the population is depended on surface water sources, the availability of fresh water is decreasing fast and quality is increasingly questionable. It has been recently estimated that by 2017 India will be `water stressed' - as per capita availability will decline to around 1600 cu m.

HEALTH IMPACT
The global impact of lack of safe water,

sanitation and hygiene on the community health is enormous 4 billion cases of diarrhea, 2.2 million deaths and 62.2 million disability of life years lost. According to World Bank study, 99.9% of the mortality and morbidity caused by unsafe water and lack of hygiene and sanitation is in the developing countries. 1.7 million children under 5 died in India during 2010 from diarrheal infections (22% of global total).

LOW WATER AVAILABILITY HEALTH

Analysis of data from 2011 census shows that around

85 per cent of Indias population is being provided with safe drinking water sources. Even for this population availability of water is of questionable quantity during summer. Many a time people have to survive with less than half of the desired norm. The problem of low availability of water is increasing as a result of excessive extraction of ground water to meet agriculture, industrial and domestic demands. This low availability of water is responsible for as many as 15 water related diseases such as Scabies, Lice and typhus, Trachoma, Conjunctivitis, Bacillary dysentery, Amoebic dysentery, Salmonellosis, Paratyphoid fever, Hook warm etc.

UNSAFE WATER
Around 15-20 per cent of the urban and rural

population does not have access to regular safe drinking water and many more are threatened. Most of them depend on unsafe water sources to meet their daily needs. Moreover, water shortages in cities and villages have led to large volumes of water being collected and transported over great distances by tankers and other means. These are of questionable quality and mostly far less than the desired norm.

DISEASE BURDEN
The disease burden due to water related

vector borne diseases is also a serious public health concern. On the whole disease burden related to unsafe water, sanitation & hygiene remains a serious public health concern and deservers much higher priority and govt. investment. Quality of water in urban municipal water supply system in India shows almost universal faecal contamination.

IMPROVE FRESH WATER AVAILABILITY

We may improve fresh water availability

either by reducing the consumption or by increasing availability of water. Sulabh International Social Service Organization has been practicing both the technologies to improve the fresh water availability situation.

CALCULATED PER YEAR WATER SAVED IF SULABH TWO-PIT SYSTEM IS ADAPTED

Total Number of toilet users world wide = 6 billion Water used in Sulabh 2 Pit toilet = 2 litres If flush twice a day water required = 4 litres Water used for septic tank/conventional sewarge per flush = 10 litres If flush twice a day water used = 20 litres Water saved daily = 16 litreper day per person Total water saved globally = 6*16 = 96 billion litres/day If left out 2.6 billion people go for Sulabh toilets water saved = 2.6*16 = 4.16 billion litres/day Water saved by existing 1.2 million Sulabh toilets average use 7 persons twice a day = 7*2* 8*1.2 = 134.4 million litres/day

RAIN WATER HARVESTING

Rainwater harvesting systems

use the principle of conserving rainwater where it falls. Stored water could be used for domestic purposes or for recharging the groundwater. Traditionally these systems were built to suit the specific environment in which they evolved and worked efficiently in different social, economic and political environment.
Theoretically,

rain captured from 1-2 per cent of Indias land can provide Indias population of 1 billion as much as 100 litres of water per person per day.

RWH PROJECTS
Sulabh International Social Services Organization successfully constructed and implemented the rainwater harvesting structure in Ramakrishna Mission Sewashram, Luknow, DIN Cooperative Group Housing Society, Dwarka, New Delhi, Scindia School, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh and in five hotels of Taj Group (Indian Hotels Co. Ltd.) at different locations to augment the groundwater recharge. Sulabh is also looking forward in this direction in near future. Most of the Government and institutions buildings could be suitably modified for installation of rainwater harvesting structure to recharge the groundwater.

It is most unfortunate that while India is aspiring to be an economic super power, and aiming annual rate of growth of 7-8% of GDP, we are increasingly falling behind in providing the basic and elementary service of safe and potable water to the community. The impact on the health and environment of the community is extremely serious as is borne out by the World Bank study that India is annually losing 4-6% of its GDP in terms of damages caused by lack of safe water, sanitation and hygiene.

PLAN INVESTMENT
Between the 1st 5-Year Plan to 12th 5-Year Plan,

our investment on public water supply and sanitation has increased from 1% to more than 4%. But, health benefits have not been commensurate with the investments made. Key factor behind the anomaly, lies in the fact that community water supply programme have not being integrated with promotion of sanitation and hygiene behavior change and the issues related to WQM has been neglected.

WATER QUALITY SURVEILLANCE

Water quality monitoring and surveillance

have not received the priority that is deserves both for urban as well as rural water supply schemes. Only when people fall sick, that we came to know about the contamination of water sources. This points to the fundamental weakness in water quality and surveillance system in our country.

WATER, SANITATION HYGIENE INTERVENTIONS

Water, sanitation and hygiene interventions interact

with one another, and available evidence indicates that the impact of each may vary widely according to local circumstances.
IMPACTS ON DIARRHOEAL DISEASE REDUCTION BY INTERVENTION AREA Intervention area Reduction in diarrhoea frequency Hygiene 37% Sanitation 32% Water supply 25% Water quality 31% Multiple 33%

 Improvements in drinking-water quality appear to

be of significance benefit to health when improvement is secured close to the point of use. The benefits of protected sources on water quality and health are limited unless safe transport and storage can be ensured. In community managed and piped water supplies, the value of focusing interventions on safe management in addition to end product testing, as described in the WHO Guidelines for DrinkingWater Quality, is widely and increasingly recognized and applied.

WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS

Poorly

maintained or non-existent hand pump platforms, inadequate or no drainage, poor hygiene around drinking water sources and poor handling of drinking water cause wide spread bacteriological contamination. This is main cause of diarrhoeal diseases.

SEWERAGE SYSTEMS INDIA

Even in urban areas, a very few towns had the

provision of sewerage in India. In 1960s more than 85% houses used to be served by bucket or dry toilets, cleaned manually by people called untouchables or scavengers. People used to defecate in parks, sides of railway tracks, lanes and by-lanes and in the open. Public toilet facilities were non-existent. These are causing serious health problems as well as are one of the major sources of pollution.

UNTOUCHABLE SCAVENGERS
Talking about untouchable Scavengers Sulabh

have been able to change the attitude and behaviour of Indians towards them. These untouchable Scavengers and their wards were given education. They were provided with vocational training on various courses like tailoring, embroidery, plumbing, electric trade, beauty care, making eatables such Paadum, noodles etc. This helped them towards self employment and earn the livelihoods. The liberated scavengers had the privilege to meet the highest dignities in the country.

IMPACT OF POOR SANITATION

Poor sanitation severely impacts public health,

causes premature deaths, diseases and imposes huge medical expenditure, pollutes water, apart from the welfare handicaps that it poses for women and children, and differentially impacts the poor. The World Bank Water and Sanitation Programme study showed that inadequate sanitation caused India considerable economic losses, equivalent to 6.4 per cent of Indias GDP in 2006 at US$53.8 billion. The poorest 20% of households living in urban areas bore the highest per capita economic impacts of inadequate sanitation.

SULABH EFFLUENT TECHNOLOGY(SET)

Sulabh have been involved in treatment of

waste water coming out of toilet in various ways. It had developed technologies for digester effluent for hydrophonic, Duckweed Waste, Waste water treatment and Sulabh Effluent Technology(SET).

ENERGY FROM WASTE

Recycling and Reuse of Human Waste
I developed another technology for complete recycling of human excreta through biogas generation and on-site treatment of effluents through a simple and convenient technology for its safe reuse without health or environmental risk.

SULABH EFFLUENT TREATMENT (SET) SYSTEM

24

Public Toilet linked to Biogas Digester and Sulabh Effluent Treatment (SET) device

The water discharged is treated by passing it through sedimentation chamber, sand filter, aeration tank, charcoal and 25 through ultra violet rays.

SULABH EFFLUENT TREATMENT (SET) SYSTEM

The effluent discharged from public toilet, after treatment, becomes so pure that its Biochemical Oxygen Demand is less than ten milligram per litre. This water is safe for discharge into rivers or water bodies, without polluting them. Hence, this also prevents pollution from the sewage. It can also be used for cleaning of floors of public toilets.

Both these technologies are suitable for market places, housing colonies, high-rise buildings, public places, schools, colleges, hospitals etc.

HUMAN EXCRETA BASED BIOGAS DIGESTER LINKED TO A PUBLIC TOILET COMPLEX

27

HUMAN EXCRETA BASED BIOGAS TECHNOLOGY

From public toilets human excreta goes inside the

digester and biogas is produced without any chemical, bacteria or change agents. Only 10-20 kgs. of cow dung is required to be put inside the digester on the first day of use. The biogas produced is then channelized for lighting mantle lamps, warming oneself in winters, cooking and also for conversion into energy for street lighting.

USE OF BIOGAS

Biogas used for cooking

29

USE OF BIOGAS

Biogas used to warm oneself in winter

30

USE OF BIOGAS

31

Biogas used for lighting of mantle lamps

Biogas used for electricity generation

Initially, in the dual fuel genset 80% biogas and 20% diesel were required to run the engine, but now under the new system ignition of compressed biogas is done through battery operated spark system.

Sulabh Toilet Complex attached with Biogas Plant at Kabul, Afghanistan

CONCLUSION
Decision-making in environment and health in general,

and in water, sanitation and hygiene in particular, involves the participation of many actors and different sectors. Competing demands from in situ (non-extractive) and extractive uses of water must be reconciled; industry, agriculture, domestic use and the environment itself all make legitimate demands. Cost benefit analysis provides objective information that can support improved policy-making and decision-taking. As per WHO study, the estimated economic benefits of investing in drinking water and sanitation globally shows a total payback of US$ 84 billion a year from the US$ 11.3 billion per year investment needed to meet the drinking water and sanitation target of the Millennium Development Goals.

We have miles to go before we sleep

Thanking You!
Sulabh International Social Service Organisation
Sulabh Gram, Mahavir Enclave Palam-Dabri Road, New Delhi-110 045, India Tel. No. : 91-11-25031518, 25031519; Fax : 91-11-25034014

Email : sulabhinfo@gmail.com / sulabhinfo1@gmail.com Website : www.sulabhinternational.org /

www.sulabhtoiletmuseum.org/ www.sulabhenvis.in