Floating Latrines: Good news for haor people

For the people living amongst the haors of Sunamganj sanitation has long been a challenge. With vast areas submerged during the rainy season, maintaining hygienic living conditions has never proved easy. But now, in Ghagatia village of Fatehpur union in remote Bishwambarpur upazila, an innovative new floating latrine system is delivering the promise of healthier lives.

“For years, for no alternative we have defecated in the open,” says Ghagatia resident Makbul Miah. “Especially during the monsoon there's no other choice.” Ghagatia, which is situated in the middle of Karchar Haor, is hardly unique. According to the Public Health Engineering department, the last national census showed that almost half of the 4.5 lakh families in Sunamganj district lack access to hygienic sanitation.

Thanks to the innovative efforts of Muhammad Talut, the former assistant commissioner for land and acting upazila nirbahi officer of Bishwambarpur upazila, it's a situation that looks set to improve.

Talut, a qualified mechanical engineer from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), has invented the floating latrine system that since August is being trialled in Ghagatia. “For haor-dwellers, one of life's biggest challenges is sanitation,” he says. “I was thinking how to solve the problem when I came upon the idea of developing floating latrines.”

“As I considered the idea further, I realised that we had most required materials at hand,” he continues. “In this area, we regularly take mobile court action against illegal stone and sand quarries. Those operations use dredgers locally known as Boma machines, pumps and oil barrels, and other supplies like bamboo and rope. We used to confiscate and destroy this equipment until I realised it could be recycled into floating latrines.”

The toilets, invented by the upazila's former assistant commissioner for land Muhammad Talut, are meant for ensuring hygienic sanitation for haor people. Photo: Dwoha Chowdhury

Talut who moved to Sussex University in UK to study sustainable energy policy, sketched a basic design using three to five empty fuel barrels, a basic sanitary pan and bamboo. He wanted a latrine that could operate year-round but was especially adapted to rainy season. “The barrels, which in quarry operations keep heavyweight pumps afloat in a river, offer good flotation. The middle barrel is designed with a gooseneck plastic pan and serves as waste storage.”

Talut notes that with the gooseneck pan, the 200-litre barrel is reduced in capacity to 160 litres, which can provide for a three-member family for up to fifteen days. “Then we use the seized pumps to transfer the waste to permanent safety tanks,” he says.

Subsequently, 48 floating latrines have been installed in Ghagatia, in a pilot project implemented by the upazila and union-level administrations.

Naturally, the almost one hundred families that call Ghagatia home are thrilled. “The floating latrines can help us to live hygienically for the first time,” says Makbul Miah. Speaking with locals, The Daily Star heard how most adults and children are using the new latrines, though some children still choose open spaces.

To encourage full utilisation, Talut plans to follow up with an awareness campaign, with the help of the union council, says Ranajit Chowdhury, Fatehpur Union's chairman.

The local assistant engineer of Public Health Engineering Department Md. Abul Kashem, is upbeat about the floating latrine's potential. “We have struggled to solve the sanitation problem over the years,” he says, “Projects like the construction of 407 washroom blocks in the district's primary school have offered some success. But the floating latrine is a valuable initiative to combat the problem yet further, and we are considering rolling out the plan to other areas.”

The deputy commissioner of Sunamganj Sheikh Rafiqul Islam is similarly supportive. “The floating latrine is a splendid innovation by a local administrator,” he says, “We are hoping to submit the project to an innovation fund which can help us eradicate unhygienic sanitation in haor areas right across the district.”