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Curbing open urination is next step
Why in the news ?
- For the first time that the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) is officially including the elimination of open urination in its agenda.
- Under new norms, cities and towns wanting to be declared ODF+ (Open Defecation Free Plus) must also be free of public urination and not just open defecation.
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- The rural division of SBM had previously said preventing public urination was not on their agenda.
- The Mission is focussed on infrastructure and regulatory changes, on the assumption that this will lead to behaviour change.
- In cities, if toilets are available, accessible and clean, people will automatically use them rather than using the road.
- The ODF+ protocols, released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, are the next step for the SBM-U and aim to ensure sustainability in sanitation outcomes.
- The original ODF protocol, issued in March 2016, said, “A city/ward is notified as ODF city/ward if, at any point of the day, not a single person is found defecating in the open.”
- So far, 2,741 cities have been certified as ODF, based mostly on third-party verification of toilet construction.
- The new ODF+ protocol, issued last week, says that a city, ward or work circle could be declared ODF+ if, “at any point of the day, not a single person is found defecating and/or urinating in the open, and all community and public toilets are functional and well-maintained.”
- The Mission is also pushing forward in its drive to get public toilets listed on Google Maps.
- A search for “toilets near me” will now display the location of public toilets in over 700 cities, and allow users to rate and review them.
Source
The Hindu