Although the latest census data on houses, household
amenities and assets indicates that close to 95 per cent of the
households in the city have access to toilets, public health experts
state that a large pocket of the population comprising the poorer
segments is denied the facility.

The
2011 census figures state that out of 23,77,056 households in
Bangalore, only 5.2 per cent don’t have toilets. However, when it comes
to numbers, this translates to more than 1,20,000.

Twin factors

Shahina
Sultana, project manager (sanitation), Mytri Sarva Seva Samiti, said
that lack of space for open defecation and awareness are the two
contributing factors that have helped Bangalore achieve such a high
figure. However, she mentions that according to a survey conducted by
her organisation in 54 slums, 40 per cent don’t have toilets. “This
means that most of the people who don’t have access to toilets are in
the slums,” she says.She also stated that most people from the low socioeconomic background are dependent on community toilets for defecation.

A
community that lives in a cattle shed in Tasker Town, Shivajinagar, has
just one toilet for 100 people. Similarly, another community that lives
in temporary sheds in Bheemanakuppe had nine toilets for 200 people a
year ago. But Mahadeviah, a resident there, said: “Now, none of the
toilets can be used as they are in a very poor condition. This causes
inconvenience to women, children and the old people as they have to wait
to go to the toilet after dusk.” Bangalore’s percentage of households
without toilets is far better than the State’s average of 48.8. In some
districts in north Karnataka such as Gadag, Koppal, Raichur and Bijapur,
more than 80 per cent of households don’t have the facility.

Public health experts state that lack of sanitation makes people vulnerable to water-prone and vector-borne diseases.Vishwanath,
an adviser to Arghyam, a trust that focuses on sanitation, said:
“Toilet is only the first step towards achieving complete sanitation.”