Now lack of toilets costs India a fortune !

By Kishore Barua

I got embarrassed and froze looking at the newspaper report in front of me as I read the headline: “Lack of toilets costs India 54 billion dollars a year: study.”

According to World Bank Report, India loses nearly $54 billion every year due to shoddy hygiene. Open defecation and poor drainage system results in sickness and premature deaths causing significant loss of finances. Tourism also takes a hit as many are concerned about this.

Another shocking fact was that India’s mobile subscribers surpass the number of people who have access to proper sanitation.

The report also said that early deaths and other health-related impacts of inadequate sanitation such as cost of treatment for illnesses such as diarrhoea, malaria and intestinal worms, cost India 38.5 billion dollars. What is more shocking is the health and financial tolls could well have been avoided with simple hygienic practices like handwashing.

Those travelling by the Mumbai Locals everyday can’t escape (can't do without) the sight of seeing people defecatiing in the open and near the tracks. Local trains may be the lifeline of Mumbai, but I am sorry to see tracks bear the brunt of lack of basic sanitation.

As per the reports, health impacts accounting for the bulk of the economic impacts, are followed by the economic losses due to the time spent in obtaining piped water and sanitation facilities, about $15 billion, and about $0.26 billion of potential tourism revenue lost due to India’s reputation for poor sanitation, the report says.

If the numbers are shocking enough; imagine the implications it will have on the Indian economy if we don’t do something about it now.

The Congress party, which came back to power with a handsome majority and gave hopes of better sanitation facilities, now has some serious thinking to do it seems. But will they ever be able to come up with concrete solutions ?