At least 37 million Odia people, almost 90 per cent of the State’s population, defecate in the open daily. As per Census 2011, 78 per cent households in the State do not have any toilet.

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At least 37 million Odia people, almost 90 per cent of the State’s population, defecate in the open daily. As per Census 2011, 78 per cent households in the State do not have any toilet.

At least 37 million Odia people, almost 90 per cent of the State’s population, defecate in the open daily. As per Census 2011, 78 per cent households in the State do not have any toilet. These are the highest figures among all the States and Union Territories of the country. Only Jharkhand shares this dubious distinction with Odisha, a Press release by Convener, Water Initiatives Odisha Ranjan Panda said on Thursday.Nearly 78 per cent of families in Odisha still have to bring water from outside their homes, almost half from faraway places.The Census 2011 figures for water and sanitation are just out. It confirms “how industry-crazy Odisha has earned another dubious distinction of being the State with the highest percentage of households without toilets,” said Panda.Based on these figures, the WIO has arrived at its findings. The State’s total households number 96,61,085, out of which 75,35,646 (78%) do not have toilets. Counted at an average of five persons per household, this comes to 3,76,78,230 people.The rural Odisha figures are appalling. Households without a latrine in the rural areas are at a whopping 85.9 per cent. In the urban areas, the figure is 35.2 per cent. Obviously, health and hygiene of the rural population is more at risk than that of the urban areas, the WIO asserted.“A State, which is boasting of investments in industries and mining all in the name of development, failed miserably in providing sanitation cover to its people. We need urgent attention of the Government to convert Odisha from an ‘open-defecating State’ to a ‘defecating-with-dignity State,’ Panda observed.Jharkhand shares this unenviable distinction with Odisha with 78 per cent households having no latrine facilities. Bihar with 76.9 per cent in this respect occupies the second position.In so far as drinking water availability is concerned, only 13.8 per cent of the households in Odisha have tap water. The rest depend on wells (19.5%), hand-pumps and tube-wells (61.4%) and other sources (5.2%). The decadal trend has shown a decrease of dependence on well by 9.1 points and that of ‘other sources’ by 2.1 points. However, the increase in provisioning of tap water that has increased by only 6.1 points compared to the figure of 2001 is not at all encouraging.In rural Odisha, only 7.5 per cent of households have tap water. What is more important to note here in a State, which is always in news for malnutrition, diarrhoea, etc, is that only 10 per cent of all the sources of water used for drinking is treated water. This is because only 72 per cent of the mere 13.8 per cent tap water accessed by households is treated. Besides, a meagre 11 per cent of all the wells used for drinking water are covered. It is not, therefore, unnatural to find out severe health hazards, the WIO observed.“The WIO believes the way we are industrialising with almost all our rivers and other water sources getting overstressed, water and sanitation woes of the State are going to increase. It is high time the Government recognised water and sanitation as a basic human right and geared up to provide cent per cent water supply and sanitation to all citizens of the State,” Panda said.