A pit latrine is a type of toilet that collects human feces in a hole in the ground.
When the latrine pit is full, the toilet is no longer usable.
The emptying can either be done manually with shovels and buckets or with motorized pumps.
Why Indians don’t want to use pit latrines?
As these latrines require periodic manual pit emptying, most of the rural Indians don’t want to use pit latrines.
They are afraid of the problems they will face when the pit fills up.
For this reason, they build a very large pit that would take decades to fill up.
But, latrines with very large pits are expensive. So, most rural families couldn’t afford them and they opt for open defecation.
What is the government’s response?
Government’s solution to the problem of pit emptying is to promote affordable latrines with two pits.
The two-pit latrine design is a technical and biological solution to the problems of open defecation and manual scavenging.
Having a second pit would allow the contents of a first pit to decompose before being emptied.
According to the Prohibition of Manual Scavenging Act, emptying human waste that has decomposed in a latrine pit is not manual scavenging, and therefore, it is not illegal.
Also some politicians wanted to shame and embarrass people who defecate out in open, as it would force them to use the toilets.
What is the problem associated with the responses?
The two-pit latrine design does not address the social consequences associated with pit emptying.
Families in rural areas don’t want to empty a decomposed pit by hand as emptying even a decomposed pit is considered as ritually polluting and would cause them to become outcaste.
The solution of shaming people is a double-edged sword, because it would make people to feel that they are outcastes.
What is the solution to the problem?
It is difficult to get people to change life-long habits. It is a change to their daily routine and social status.
We need to disrupt people’s existing behaviour by using powerful motives. But we also want people to have emotional reasons to build and use toilets.
Recently, Secretary of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, emptied the decomposed waste from a twin-pit latrine in Warangal district.
His action deserves praise because he identified the problem of pit emptying must become central to India’s efforts to eliminate open defecation.
This effort must not stop and demonstrations must be done from celebrities to village leaders across the country.
So the real challenge lies at effort to change people’s minds on how about and where to defecate, who can empty latrine pits, and ultimately, how Dalits should be treated.
