KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND USE OF LATRINE IN NORTHERN INDIA
Latrine is simply a military toilet or simply a place that men and women can relieve themselves but not like in a household toilet, latrine is group of bathroom or toilet that is sufficient enough for multiple people or group use. This is a comfortable place to dispose a body excrement since excreting in any place can provide a more serious health problem and many types of diseases can spread through it. To avoid this problem of health hazard every home should have a latrine. Actually even in the farm or isolated location that people are residing should produce their own latrine for personal and sanitation purpose.
Farmers in the most modest way of building latrine are digging the soil meters deep and covering it with matt, sack and a foundation of timber or other woods that surrounds it. Simple maintenance would be covering the hole with timber or wood each time when not in use, after use you must wash also your back anal body part and your hand with soap ash as a substitute and this are basically the modest and proper way of using it.
This kind of latrine in the farm is just a good substitute latrine but in a household the creation of latrine should be more stable and convenience as much as possible since this is often used every day by a group or family shared by children, parents, old people and ill individuals. This household latrine should have a strong foundation from wear and tear and should not be deconstructed by heavy rain or quake strong enough to handle and capable of multi functionality or it may cause danger in healthy living. It doesn’t have to cost much but it should be sanitized for proper hygiene.
In other parts of third world countries including some parts of Africa and Asian regions there are large numbers of groups of people especially from mountain ranges who do not use latrine and usually susceptible to disease, they just excrete anywhere they like and sometime in nearby oceans and rivers that pollutes the water. These are the usual causes of diarrhea, typhoid fever and other diseases in their own communities and villages.
In India there are many efforts by the government and non government organization to produce latrines in most parts of the villages to popularize the use and sanitation of latrine in the community since there are still parts of India who do not follow such governing law of cleanliness and sanitation, some people do not care about the calling of the government. Due to this reason the India Social Workers conducted a survey in Kheri and Raipur Rani, Amabala with a combined population of 6800 people residing in that area. The standard scheme of latrine should be 4ft. by 3ft in diameter.
Survey shows in the small village that out of 280 houses there are 68 who do not use latrine as specified. In another bigger village, test of 575 there are 53 household who do not use latrine. And survey shows that some people use latrine differently rather than its common use but also as a storage room, stock room, bath room and urination. There are also houses that have a vacant room and incomplete latrine. Significantly there are also latrine in rainir rapu who do not have doors or curtain to cover their latrine some do not even have roof.
Still on the survey shows that convenience and privacy in women and children is the main reason why they use latrine in their house also some told that safety and inconvenience at night time and rainfall is another reason why they use it, while some people who do not use such facilities says that they do not use latrine because of lack of space in their home, open air defecation is fresher and this was an age old habit. But majority of the respondent do not express their opinion while others prefer both. While some would say that water shortage is the problem and hand pump water is not a reliable source of it.
Social Workers concluded that the use of latrine is more accepted in larger village than the small one. They also warn them that there are many dangers that people might encounter if they do not use latrine and most of this are health related; fever, skin infection, eye infection, anemia, diarrhea, typhoid and other chronic diseases may spread all throughout the community if they do not stop open field defecation.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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