‘Only 29 percent households in JK have access to toilet facility’

Srinagar, Feb 9 :  Painting a grip picture of sanitation in J&K, a national monitoring agency has revealed that only 29 percent households in the State have access to toilet facility.

In 35 percent villages, the agency said, less than 25 percent households are having access to such a facility.

The National Level Monitoring (NLM) agency has visited 137 villages in J&K to evaluate the sanitation scenario and report the same to the Ministry of Rural Development.

“Only in 29.2 percent villages, out of 137 villages visited by the NLM, had access to the toilet facility. In 35.7 percent villages less than 25 percent APL households were having toilet facilities; In only 17.5 percent villages out of 137 visited in the state, all the households have been provided toilets. 43 percent villages had less than 25 percent BPL households with toilet facilities,” NLM report reveals.

Continuing to portray dismal picture of sanitation, the report stated that in 65.7 percent of villages less than 25 percent BPL households of total BPL households have been provided Individual Household Latrines (IHHL) under Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC). “94.9 percent villages had less than 25 percent SC/ST of total households who have been provided IHHL under TSC.”

The NLM had conducted random checks in the village areas, visited houses, interviewed families on various aspects of toilet construction and usage to ascertain the sanitation status in these villages. “In 37.9 percent villages, all the visited households were having a functional toilet and were using them. In 67.1 percent visited villages, the practice of open defecation is still prevalent.”

NLM has also reported that in majority of villages in Baramulla, Jammu, Kupwara, Poonch and Rajouri and Udhampur, less than 25 percent households have toilet facility.

The sanitation in schools across J&K is also poor as NLM has stated that only 61.7 percent schools in the visited villages had toilet facilities. “However in 20.2 percent schools, the toilets were either defunct/not in use or locked.”

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