When villagers decided to have toilets

Jalhori is among the very few villages in Salboni which has proper toilets in some houses. In most villages, people still defecate in the open.

pujab

Puja Bhattacharjee | November 27, 2012



There is a chill in the air that announces the advent of winter, as I set off toward Jalhori village in Moupal mouza in the afternoon. The objective of my visit is to inspect the condition of toilets in the village. Jalhori is among the very few villages in Salboni which has proper toilets in some houses. In most villages, people still defecate openly.

The villagers are a little incredulous at first when I tell them that I want to have a look at their toilets. Upon realising that I was serious they allowed me to have a look at it but they could not suppress their giggles. I felt embarrassed and out of place but stood my ground nonetheless. Very few toilets were in hygienic condition. The proper toilets with walls and doors were built by the Ram Krishna Mission for Rs 5000 approximately. The rest were given the plates from the panchayats for Rs 175 and they had to do the rest of the work. To save money, the villagers had built an enclosure with bamboo and jute bags which houses the toilet.

The waste accumulates in a four feet deep opening and has to be cleaned from time to time. One family decided that they had enough trouble with cleaning it time and again and built a proper toilet as they could afford it. The man who owns the house informs me that the plates were more than a decade old.

Besides, things were uncertain for quite a long time and he didn’t want the added trouble. He pauses for a while and then goes on. Jalhori was a Maoist stronghold for a long time. He and his four daughter-in-laws were made to attend the meetings. His grandchildren used to stay at home as the schools were closed indefinitely. “I got tired of walking but couldn’t refuse,” he sighs. Owing to the predicament, two out of his four sons have shifted to Midnapore town.

One of the women tells me that they would be taken for meetings in far off places, sometimes as far as Nonasole, deep in the woods. “It would be really late and back home everybody would be worrying,” she says. Asked how she found her way back, she says that the men (Maoists) dropped her back home.
The harmat (CPM army) would be clashing with the Maoists to consolidate their position and in the resulting skirmish it was the villagers who got affected. Both parties wanted the villagers to side with them creating a huge dilemma for them. But the people are glad it is all behind them now. “Pariborton ashte pariborton hoyeche (the advent of change brought about change),” says the woman referring to the change of government.

Comments

 

Other News

How to leverage AI to solve urgent global issues

The world seems to be hurling towards World War III in all the possible scenarios: hot war, cold war, and proxy war. The battleground seems to have expanded beyond physical to digital or virtual/mixed reality with technology like drones. Moreover, the line between civilian and military targets seems to hav

Budget: Progress towards SDGs and areas for improvement

The Union Budget 2025-26 outlines India`s vision for economic and social growth while also reflecting the country`s commitment to sustainable development. As India moves closer to the 2030 deadline for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this budget presents a balanced approach

Repo rate cut by 25 basis points to 6.25%

The Reserve Bank of India has, for the first time in five years, reduced the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points to 6.25% with immediate effect. Consequently, the standing deposit facility (SDF) rate will stand adjusted to 6.00% and the marginal

Amitav Ghosh’s new work: Connections between the word and the world

Wild Fictions: Essays By Amitav Ghosh HarperCollins, 496 pages, Rs 799.00 Amitav Ghosh, one of a handful of Ind

How markets can help (and also hinder) fight against pollution

In the annals of environmental policy, few ideas have been as transformative as the Emissions Trading System (ETS). Born from the minds of economists in the late 1960s, this market-based approach to pollution control has evolved from a theoretical concept to a global tool in the fight against climate chang

Will Bihar complement the resolution of Viksit Bharat 2047?

As India completes its diamond jubilee as a republic, I am reminded of a statement by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, delivered during an address to the Bihar Chamber of Commerce in Patna on March 28, 2006. He said, “I have visited Bihar numerous times, and it has always been a source of happiness for me to

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now



Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter