Emami pledges Rs.15 cr towards sanitation project

A total budget of Rs.15 crores has been earmarked towards the propagation of the cause.  Out of this, Rs.5 cr for West Bengal, Rs. 4 cr each for Orissa and Assam and Rs. 2 cr for Uttarakhand, have been allocated to the cause of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), the company said in a statement.  

Under this project, bio-toilets developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) would be built in rural and backward areas of the four earmarked states.

Bio-toilets are cheap, eco-friendly sewerage where bacteria convert waste to odourless compost. They can also be used in extreme climates.

The Bio-Digester technology developed by DRDO is a non-polluting and effective method that degrades and converts human waste in an eco-friendly manner into usable agricultural water and energy gases with 90% reduction of pathogens and organic matter.

Sanitation is the backbone of public health.  According to census data, almost 70%-plus rural households in India lack any proper sanitation facility.  About 50% of India’s population live without access to toilet at home and still defecate in open areas till date. Situation in rural areas is dismal with only 21% using improved sanitation facilities. 

Such poor sanitary condition is a major hygiene concern for the nation and makes people, especially children vulnerable to major health hazards like diarrhoea, typhoid, viral hepatitis, encephalitis and other sanitation related diseases.   Improving access to sanitation is a critical step towards reducing the impact of these diseases. It also helps create physical environments that enhance safety, dignity and self-esteem.

“The prevailing abysmal standard of sanitation & waste management in India, especially in rural areas poses a major health hazard.  As a responsible corporate citizen, we have decided to build bio green toilets in rural areas across four states, where we operate in.   Conventional sewerage treatment plants requiring uninterrupted electricity supply is an expensive proposition for rural communities and the widely used alternative of pit-based sanitation that compost human waste is a labour intensive option resulting in transmission of diseases and other problems. Hence we feel that bio-toilets are the perfect way to bring about a clean revolution in rural India to achieve the target of ending open defecation in the country a reality,” said  Sushil Goenka, Managing Director, Emami Limited.

To this effect, Emami also planned to launch an awareness campaign to sensitize people especially from underprivileged classes both in the rural and urban areas on the importance and need to maintain good hygiene, cleanliness and sanitation.

As Goenka added, “We believe only construction of toilets is not enough to bring change. It has to be a holistic approach through behavioural change communication program along with acceleration of sanitation through construction of toilets. Hence, we will launch an awareness campaign initially in West Bengal in the first phase. Next we plan to expand its reach to the adjacent areas of all our manufacturing units finally rounding it up with Pan India coverage."

For the past few years, repeated sanitation campaigns by various governments, have been trying to improve sanitation coverage across rural India by building both household and community latrines. But despite these efforts, there has been little reduction in open defecation.

In fact, from 2001 to 2011, latrine coverage in rural India increased by about one percentage point each year. Various researches from time to time have shown that a major reason behind this dismal scenario is the lack of awareness amongst people.