Abstract


Research Report
CHALLENGES IN ACCESSING WATER AND SANITATION: A CASE STUDY OF GOLPURI, MEWAT, HARYANA

Monika Jain and Sushmitha Baskar

Pages: 23-29

Abstract:

The development of any country is thought to be largely dependent on access to clean water and sanitary facilities. Any of them cannot be analysed in isolation because there has always been a strong connection between two. Every developing nation, like India, should be concerned when a sizable rural population continues to experience problems with water and sanitation. The government implemented numerous effective projects to address this issue. The Swacch Bharat Project (Gramin), started by the Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narender Modi ji, has built a significant number of toilets in rural regions throughout the course of this five-year period (2014-2019), although the issue of subpar sanitation in villages still exists. Rural women continue to experience pain and have several sanitization-related difficulties. The construction of toilets alone will not suffice to address this serious and deeply ingrained problem. The community's longstanding customs that have persisted may be one of the reasons. Despite the efforts of the government and local NGOs, citizens in the Indian state of Haryana's Mewat area still experience sanitation issues. Also, we noted that the infection was more common in the female population than the male population. Those who utilised open defecation exhibited greater positive results for parasite infection. It was discovered during the study that the usage of toilets depends on a number of different criteria, including physical structure, accessibility (distance), water supply, and most crucially, habit or behaviour of users. This study focuses on the problems with cleanliness and the waterfront that the locals in the study region confront. Even though open defecation continues to be a major source of water contamination and the spread of communicable diseases have immediate negative effects on public health, our research supports the hypothesis that the area's significant female participation in livestock and agricultural management as well as improper waste disposal practises may all contribute to the area's infection prevalence.

Keywords:

Water

Sanitation

Open Defecation