Nearly 13 per cent of the population in urban India defecate in the open. In the capital, Delhi, while there are no precise figures, the number of those defecating in the open as they don't have a toilet is substantial. Now growing aspirations are creating a huge demand for toilets and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised to build 100 million toilets across the country. The irony, however, is that existing community toilets are falling into disrepair. A few years after they are built, they are not fit for use. Construction of new community toilets is only one half of the sanitation story. The other half is operation and maintenance.
(Read more)