Once every year we watch the World Toilet Day Specials, programmes aired by some of our TV channels. Being curious about the history of the toilet itself, a necessity in every home, I found some interesting facts about the invention of the toilets. One John Harrington invented the first toilet in 1596 in England and the Americans sometimes say “John” when referring to a toilet. There are conflicting claims about the inventions. It is claimed that one Thomas Crapper invented it in England, and that is the reason it is also sometimes called “The Crapper”, slang used again by the Americans. Be that as it may, we are still struggling to have toilets for our teeming population since 1596.
We had our own toilets in Goan homes with the home grown pig doing the scavenging, which are obsolete these days with the arrival of septic tanks and soak pits. The former were cheap to construct and maintenance free. The later costs at least nearly one lakh rupees including the toilet, plumbing, the septic tank and the soak pit. It is not easy for a below poverty level family to spend this much amount on the toilet when they have a cheaper alternative and that is defecation in the open spaces or even the road side. I remember when I was a student; I used to walk to the college in the mornings and all along the road I could see the squatters in a straight line relieving themselves. This was in Bandra in the early 1960s on the way to the National College.
It is reported that 600 million people relieve themselves in the open. I am not sure of the figure, assuming it is correct; we need 150 million toilets, assuming a family size of four members. If enough resources are available with the government and if corporates are willing to extend a hand, the task of having a toilet in every home and community toilets for shanties is not impossible in the medium to long term.
It should be kept in mind that merely building toilets is not enough if they are not maintained. Cleanliness and hygiene are more important, otherwise the very purpose of the exercise is defeated. No maintenance will mean flushing crores of rupees down the drain. Running water is a very common problem in our public washrooms and toilets. Very often people pee on the roadside because they find the public toilets not hygienic.
