Pranay Banerjee
ABSTRACT
India has been a country with scarce availability of toilets in homes and even fewer at public levels. This glaring basic need has gotten a lot of attention and was made a national issue with the Swach Bharat scheme introduced by PM Modi. For several years the government machinery has been trying to install toilets across the country. But have things improved as much for the disabled, senior citizens, and pregnant women, viz their defecation needs? Are these toilets at home accessible and usable for this set of people with special needs? This research paper is a statistical survey of two panchayats, Durjaniyavas and Machwa in Jaipur, to assess the physical problems faced by women, senior citizens, and disabled citizens while using the toilets within India and how this problem can be addressed. While doing this research study special focus has been given to the following factors: income levels, size of family, availability of water connections, and number of disabled people within the family. These factors may affect the decision of the families to install toilet facilities within their houses or use public facilities that are convenient to the disabled group of people. Our conducted survey suggests that in the panchayat of Durjaniyavas and Machwa on average the affected people i.e. physically disabled, with knee problems and pregnant women are 6%, 21%, and 4% respectively. The average number of old citizens living in these two panchayats is around 6%. Our study reveals that due to their health issues, it is uncomfortable for them to use an Indian toilet.
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