IE : With Indian help, first public toilets for Afghanistan : Sept 28, 2007
With Indian help, first public toilets for Afghanistan
Neha Sinha
Posted online: Friday, September 28, 2007 at 0000 hrs
KABUL, SEPTEMBER 27: “If it works in India, it will work in Kabul.”
For the administration of Afghanistan, being associated with “something that
works in India” is a huge compliment. And in Kabul Square, the men crowd
curiously around the formal inauguration of a public toilet complex. Public
toilets are an amenity the city has never had. The first five functional
ones located at strategic points, like Sarai Shyamoli, Farosh Gah, Indira
Gandhi Institute of Child Health (IGICH) and Deh Afghan of Kabul have been
built by the NGO Sulabh, in collaboration with the Indian Government.
Around 5,000 people are already using the five complexes everyday.
These self-sustaining toilet complexes attempt to provide something the
Taliban had snatched from Afghan women: security, and a space that can be
accessed anytime. The toilets, run on ground water supply – most areas do
not have piped water — will also utilise excrement to produce biogas (to be
used for heating water and toilet lights) and treated water which can be
used as fertiliser.
Interestingly, India has had its own chequered tryst with biogas, often
opposed as a cooking fuel. In Kabul, it’s the caretakers of the toilets who
are currently using biogas as a cooking fuel, a trend the administration
hopes will be picked up by others.
“We are interested in a functional city in Kabul,” said Q Djallalzada,
Deputy Minister, Urban Development.
The shift from the hammam (an Arabic word for bath) to the simple Sulabh
blocks is an immense one. During the Taliban rule, women went to relieve
themselves only at night. Recognising the need for a private space for the
woman which can be accessed publicly, the complexes also have rooms for
lactating mothers.
According to data compiled in 2002, an estimated 13 per cent of the total
population has access to safe water. Only 8 per cent of the country’s
population has access to appropriate sanitation facilities, with the
coverage being 16 per cent in urban areas and 5 per cent in rural areas.
The toilets also have a bathing facility, said Rohullah Aman, Mayor of
Kabul. “India is a big democracy and is even helping us build our new
Parliament. We hope that the Ambassador of India will offer us more
assistance on more projects,” he added.
The toilets have been customised for Kabul. “We have constructed the biogas
digesters 4 feet below ground level to maintain the temperature conditions
even in winter,” said Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of Sulabh.
Meanwhile, each toilet has a ramp, so that it can be used by disabled people
as well, a grim reminder of the conflict situation in the city.
Publication : IE; Section : National; Pg : 6; Date : 28/9/07
URL : http://www.indianexpress.com/story/222000.html