& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

An Overview of Sanitation Coverage in Bangladesh

by A M S Hoque
THE World Development Report presented by the World Bank in their 1992 edition has Indicated - an alarming scenario of sanitation. The population without adequate sanitation Jn the World might grow from 1700 million tn 1990 to 3400 million In 2030, unless the concerned .Agencies of United Nations pay adequate attention and per suade the Member Govts to attach high priority to the speedy improvement of sanitation. The sanitation coverage acflieved as per report of 1990 Is 71% in Thailand. 70% in Sri Lanka, 59% in Bhutan and but only 6% in Bangladesh and the coverage targets for 2000 are 100% in Thailand, Sri Lanka and Bhutan ^id for Bangladesh it is 80%. The achieved coverage of sanitation in Bangladesh (only 6%) is really awful for the nation. Recently a group of people have published exaggerated figures that 33% coverage of sanitation has been achieved in Bangladesh in 1993. but the author considers this report as a baseless, motivated and bluffing report. The author being the Project Director of Village Sanitation Project lrr the country. Is competent to give the correct fig ure of sanitation coverage in Bangladesh, and according to official records, sanitation coverage is only 12%. .Even if this figure of 33% coverage is accepted. it is too small in comparison to the actual national need and in comparison to the achievements of other SAARC countries like Thailand, Sri Lanka and Bhutan which, are 71%, 70% and 59% respectively. In spite of their achievements being much higher than Bangladesh, they have not clo.sed down their Sanitation Programme, but Bangladesh, In an ECNEC meeting, has decided to shut down the Village Sanitation Programme from July 1995 thus transferring the responsibility of i*ural sanitation from the Govt to the private producers with the expectation that the private producers will raise the coverage from 12% to 100% by 2000 which is. not at all possible.
Hence we are of the opinion that Bangladesh should pay much more attention to sani tatlon coverage both in the ru ral and urban population and the Honourable Prime Minister also pledged in her speech in the Inaugural session of the 1 st SOCMOB Seminar held at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in Feb/92 In the same line. But we are alarmed to foam that the ECNEC of the Govt of the
People's Republic of Bangladesh has dishonoured the pledge made. by the Honourable Prime Minister and proceeded to shut down the Village Sanitation Project from, 1995. While on the other hand the SOCMQB activity for sanitation has been intensified countrywide to make the rural people understand the true benefit of sanitation. It is felt that if the Govt really wants to elevate the health situation of the people of Bangladesh, and as it hais initiated a gigantic project of SOCMOB in this regard. it will be a negating attempt towards sanitation to close down the Vflldge Sanitation Project before 2000.
The Govt of Bangladesh initiated studies to improve the sanitation situation of the country since the early sixties. ARer Intensive pilot studies on different options for a decade, they devised and finally selected one option called "Water-seal Sanitary Latrine." It consists of one 4x4' RCC slab having a !0"x6" hole at the middle where a RCC/FC pan with arrangement of automatic sealing the pan hole with the left-ovef water from flushing after each defecation. The slab was resting on five RCC rings resting one on another in a hole dug Into the ground in a suitable location of a rural home.. This arrangement of Water sealing was stopping the flies to reach the extreta for breeding on one side, and at the same time, also stopping the coming out of bad smell from the decomposition of the human excreta. The system was working very good and at the same time It was cheap and within the economic capacity of the rural people, and well accepted by the people, and above all. the technology Is sustainable. By 1991. about 17.00.006 latrine sets were sold and installed. When the sale were reaching the peak, the'Govt expanded the programme upto 460 thana headquarters and even upto 540 Union headquarters, thus having a lota! yearly production and sale upto 300.000 sets In 1000 centres.
But in 1992 in the 3rd phase of the project, some vested group in order to nip the sanitation development in the bud, suddenly hanged the
policy of the project implementation by adding some destructive conditions which are ■ (a) issuing of one ring in place of five rings thus discouraging
" rural buyers of latrines. This trial took a year and when it was understood that one slab and one ring policy was not working, then they decided to sell upto 5 rings with a single slab as before, but price for the additional four rings was again raised to taka 100/- per ring. Again the price went beyond the buying capacity of the rural people, so people did not come forward to buy and instal latrines. In this way the project" was not allowed to flourish and proceed smoothly by putting barriers at every step with some 111 motive behind. .Last year, the cost of ring was analysed again by the Planning Circle and the price was re-fixed at Taka 70/- per piece, but still the price remains
higher than the ones manufactured by the private producers (which is 40 to 50 Taka each). The matter was investigated recently by Village Project office When the actual cost of one ring was found to be about Taka 50/- only (with supply of cement free of cost). If the price of Taka 50/- would have been fixed from the beginning of the project, then demand would have been so much that it would be very difficult for the centres to meet the demands and the coverage of sanitation of Bangladesh could have been reached 70-80% by this time.
In conclusion It may be remarked that the frequent changes of policies as dictated by the donors and their allies, has greatly damaged the sanitation programme of the country and the decision of ECNEC also probably has been based on the dictation of the donors. Hence, it proposed that decision of ECNEC of shutting down the . Village Sanitation Project from 1995x commands revision In the In- • terest of the true sanitation Improvement of the country.