Reinventing sewage business for cleaning India

Building toilets, however essential, must not be confused with sanitation

The NDA government is close to completing its third year — mid-term corrections are definitely needed when it comes to one of its most important programmes to clean rivers, in particular, the Ganga. The fact is that not much has changed on the ground; rivers are still polluted; drains that bring waste from the cities are still full of muck and toilets that are being built are only adding to the pollution. The fact is that toilets are mere receptacles to receive waste; when we flush or pour water, the waste flows into a piped drain, which could be connected,