Old ills still plague, but incredible achievements have been made in the country. One such achievement is the increase in access to drinking water. Between 1990-2012 the government increased drinking water access to 534 million people. However, a higher number -597 million- still defecates openly, the worst in MDG regions. As opposed to the stride taken to provide people drinking water, India has done the least to address its sanitation needs compared to countries like Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Pakistan and Nepal. 65 per cent of rural India still does not have access to sanitation, a problem more compounded for women, as they have special hygiene needs.
In urban India, this number is 12 per cent, where the problem is largely confined to semi-urban regions and slums. The sanitation problem is a health and environment hazard with long-term consequences for economic progress. Considering how bad even our sewage system is, on closer look, the predicament looks like something that simply cannot be solved. A constantly proposed solution, public toilets take a long time to install due to government bureaucracy, and are expensive to maintain (which they are not). Many aren't used by slums they're supposed to service. It's a grave issue and it can only be solved if the sewage and disposal system in cities is given equal attention.
