Reinventing Public Toilets in Delhi

Lack  of  adequate  sanitation  is  a  pressing challenge  in  both  rural  and  urban  India. Sanitation-related diseases take a heavy toll of lives, especially children’s lives, and are a drain  on  productivity  and  incomes.  Lack  of adequate  sanitation  also  forces  households into    the    continued    indignity    of    open defecation,   which   is   an   acute   problem especially   for   women   and   young   girls. Improving  access  to  sanitation  is  therefore appropriately  included   in  the  Millennium Development Goals.  Since  May  2006,  more  than  150  slums  in Delhi have been demolished under government pretenses of transforming India's capital  into  a  clean  and  more  cosmopolitan "world  city."  Home  to  the  city's  laborers and working class, slum colonies have come under  increasing  attack  by  politicians  and more elite residents who criticize the specter of  poverty  as  leaving  a  black  mark  on  the growing image of a "shining India." With the upcoming  2010  Common  Wealth  Games to be held in Delhi, demolitions have sped up to make way for a  sports stadium and other commercial centers. The slum demolition process has resulted in dire human rights violations of   India's largest urban population, the working poor. Evicted from well-established squatter communities in the heart of the city,  many poor families have been shipped out of sight, and often out of mind,     sometimes disappearing altogether from the city. Yet the amenities and conditions of poverty in resettlement areas are among the worst in the city,  as many of these colonies lack basic water and sanitation infrastructure, and are further excluded from employment opportunities, education, and medical facilities.