<i>'10pc villagers defecate in the open'</i>
About 23 percent rural people use unhygienic toilets while 10 percent villagers defecate in the open in Bangladesh, reveals a survey.
The data achieved through the surveying of about 2.5 lakh people in some 150 villages of the seven divisions this year represent the overall sanitary condition of the country, said Dr Mujibur Rahman, professor, the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet).
Dr Mujibur presented the study report during the National Convention for the Grassroots People at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh in the city yesterday. He said the conditions of sanitation in some particular unions are far worse.
Abdus Salam, member secretary, Trinamool Jatiya Federation, said diversity of regions have impacts on sanitary condition of the country. "A plan that works for plain lands does not work for Hilly, Char or Baor areas”.
Claiming that hygienic sanitary latrine was not found in most of the slums and the slum people use open space for excretion, he said the government should give allocation considering the diversity.
Salam said, “Many women suffer from sexual, skin, and cervical diseases as they could not use hygienic latrine. And women are not given priority in the sanitation programmes”.
Chief guest at the convention, Law Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed said if the government and people work together, sanitation will be ensured for everyone by 2013.
Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council-Bangladesh (WSSCC-B), Fresh Water Action Network South Asia Bangladesh (FANSA-BD), WaterAid Bangladesh, and Plan Bangladesh jointly organised the daylong event where grassroots people from seven divisions shared their experience about sanitation.
The unions under the survey conducted by WSSCC-B and FANSA-BD include Charikata and Charnar Char of Sylhet, Jumarbari and Saghata of Rangpur, Kalapati and Hasnabad of Chittagong, Paler Char, Char Katari and Chukaibari of Dhaka, Chandshi and Badarkhali of Barisal, and Rajnagar and Kamarkhola of Khulna.