Despite toilet access, Kodai fails in disposal of fecal sludge

CHENNAI: Although Kodaikanal has good access to toilets and its connection to septic tanks or pits, it still has a long way to go when it comes to disposal of fecal sludge, a survey by Tamil Nadu Urban Sanitation Support Programme (TNUSSP) has found.

The exercise that was undertaken to understand the sanitation system in Kodaikanal was aimed at providing quantitative data on the sanitation practices and to identify sanitation arrangements in households and establishments.

Said Reeba Devaraj, senior specialist at the Indian Institute of Human Settlements (IIHS), one of the primary organisations that implements the TNUSSP, “Access to any kind of sanitation system is high in the area. Indigenous knowledge and masonry have played a huge role in the kind of septic tanks.”

She added that although 73.7 per cent households had toilets that were connected to septic tanks, they did not adhere to the Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation (CPHEEO) guidelines. Instead, they were mostly crude structures that paid little attention to specified infrastructure.

According to the survey, 79.5 per cent of households had access to individual toilets, 82.3 per cent of non-slum households and 76.4 per cent of slum households had access to individual toilets. However, among establishments, only 10.4 per cent had  toilets. Although the numbers look encouraging for such a terrain, which makes underground sewage system impossible, the survey finds a worrying trend.

With 75.9 per cent of households found to be using private desludging services, there arises a question of safe disposal of fecal sludge.“Since Kodaikanal doesn’t have a designated sewage treatment plant, we don’t know disposal of fecal sludge. Although groundwater contamination is not proven, there’s definitely a threat,” said Reeba.

Similarly, desludging itself was found to be irregular among both households and establishments. Out of 275 establishments, only 53 have ever emptied their septic tanks.  Said Asma, senior specialist, TNUSSP, “This survey is an attempt to enable preempting the issue of unregulated disposal of fecal sludge. We need to take proper action.”