Manual scavenging: A stinking legacy of suffocation and stigma

Every year, hundreds of manual scavengers die, asphyxiated by poisonous gases

Swachh Bharat Mission: ‘Inducing behavioural change was a task’

Parameswaran Iyer, secretary, Department of Drinking water and Sanitation, spoke to Down To Earth on how intensive information-education-…

Temple and open defecation: Shifting narratives of sacred and profane

How did people of Karnataka’s Berambadi village strategically redefine the nature of open defecation spaces?

After India becomes ODF, Nigeria faces a mounting challenge

The African nation is set to replace India with the largest number of open defecators

Minister claims Ganga will be 70-80% cleaner by March 2019, but is it realistic?

So far, the government has focussed largely on curbing flow of untreated sewage into the river, but not on managing faecal sludge

Rural water and sanitation needs to prioritise sustainability

Prioritising drinking water source sustainability, mix-up of nutrient cycle and reuse of treated biosolids & wastewater …

Budget 2023-24: Marks of a circular economy

Budget 2023-24 provides clear shifts in programme direction that need to be applauded. The real test will be our ability to operationalise those …

Is the Ganga basin drowning in shit?

A slew of loopholes means that the Ganga and its tributaries will continue to receive wastewater and faecal sludge

Kumbh Mela 2019: What’s happening to all the waste?

Estimated amount of fecal matter produced during the Kumbh Mela is 18 times of what the district produces daily; how this waste will be treated …

India lags in drinking water, sanitation and hygiene facilities: Study

The Harvard University study is based on the performance of India’s 543 parliamentary constituencies on — unsafe disposal of child …

How to reinvent the sanitation wheel

The city “shit-flow” diagram shows that the situation is grim as all cities either do not treat or safely dispose the bulk of the …

Urban ladder: How ODF India tries to manage faecal sludge

In the absence of adequate rural treatment plants, a few states rope in underutilised urban facilities 

Ground report: Tanzania’s sanitation battle is just half won

Part 1: CSE team finds awareness campaign for toilets is not enough, correct designs are needed as well 

Swachh Bharat Mission: Women take the lead in Himachal Pradesh

The state, with almost 60% of panchayats headed by women, tackled open defection by resolving the water crisis. It was declared open-defecation …

Human excreta can make good fertiliser, but prejudice and laws stand in way

There is a need for tests and experiments to validate the efficacy of human excreta derived fertilisers, suggests a research by UK scientists

Roadblocks for bio-toilets in India

Bio-toilets are gaining ground. But emerging challenges could defeat the purpose

STPs in 3 Punjab towns lying defunct: NGT monitoring committee

Poor performance of sewage treatment plants due to delayed payment by municipal bodies, monitoring committee report to NGT  

SBM 2.0 focussed on ODF sustainability: Govt

Swachh Bharat Mission has been one of the key missions of Narendra Modi-led government since its launch in 2014. It aims to make India Open …

Brazil’s sewage woes reflect the growing global water quality crisis

Wastewater treatment systems are hamstrung by outdated tests that don't identify a growing array of pathogens

Faecal sludge management gets world attention

Meet on in Hanoi to identify new waste handling and treatment technologies and sustainable business models

Managing water resources key for Tanzania’s sanitation fight

Part 2: Funding biggest bottleneck for carrying out plans; CSE team finds greywater mismanagement too

Manual scavengers: Existing in the shade

Several government departments continue to maintain silence on plight of manual scavengers, despite an array of schemes for them 

Swachh Bharat Mission misses out on sludge management

Official representing India at third international faecal sludge management conference fails to provide satisfactory answer

Sanitation workers deserve an inclusive ecosystem — here are 5 best practices for their safety and dignity

Urban India has an estimated 2 million sanitation workers 

Mainstreaming co-treatment of faecal sludge for reducing pollution in Ganga

Excreta of 73 per cent of UP’s population is not managed safely. Out of this, 48 per cent is dependent on on-site sanitation systems