Worldwide, at least 2.6 billion people do not have access to toilets, they emit 200 million tons of faeces per year that are thrown outdoors, ie, out of a suitable place.
The worst case in this regard is India, which has the biggest sanitary problem in the world, approximately 750 million people do not have access to toilets and sewerage.
In this country, the less favored class carries out the work of collecting feces disposed of in the streets and elsewhere, this practice being performed by men and women. The men enter manholes where large amounts of human excrement are accumulated and the work is developed without any kind of protection, in a place full of condoms, absorbents and many other materials undesirable. Women carry baskets full of feces on their heads, the situation is even more precarious in rainy periods, as the excrement runs down the body of the person who carries them.
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The amount of excrement produced by the Indian population exceeds that generated by the populations of the United States, Indonesia and Brazil, if added together.
In parts, the Indian culture considers hygiene, as bathing is common, however, they sell food a few meters from the ditches where open sewers are deposited.
According to this situation that apparently should not happen, since we are in the 21st century, here are some data from the Indian reality:
• Around 120 thousand tons of feces are produced in the country daily.
• In just one day India produces approximately 1.2 billion liters of urine.
• Every day excrement produced in India, if turned into methane gas, could generate the explosive capacity equivalent to 18 atomic bombs.
• A feces cleaner receives a salary that looks like a “joke”, something around 0.46 cents of Brazilian currency.
By Eduardo de Freitas
Graduated in Geography
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
FREITAS, Eduardo de. "The poor hygiene conditions in India"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/pessimas-condicoes-de-higiene-na-india.htm. Accessed on June 28, 2021.