Loo story
Loo Story
If we asked a group of Vizagites as to what
the greatest inventions in our lifetime were, many would say washing machines, televisions,
computers, mobile phones and so on and they would probably be right considering
the huge impact that it has had on our lives. However there is one contraption
that has really made the biggest difference of all and that is the humble potty
in our toilets. Just do the job, press a knob, turn a handle or pull a chain
and Abracadabra! The evidence disappears in a magical swirl of water. The point here is that the humble commode,
the “potty”, the “ivory throne”, the “comfort seat” is by far the greatest
invention of the 20th century. You can do without your mobile phone
for a day but can you manage without using the potty? Quod Erat Demonstrandum.
By the sea
Old timers will remember how things were in
Vizag in the old days. Most of Vizag went in the open. Villagers went in the fields. Fisher folk and
coast dwellers lined the beaches, squatting at the water’s edge, in different
stances from “thoughtful” to “contemplative”, from “get-set-go” to “I-am
–here-for-the-long-haul” positions. As a big wave came they would stand up and
scurry to safer ground. All washing was done using the sea water. Naughty
children would make small catapults called “bum stingers”, using tiny pebbles;
they would carry out guerrilla strikes on the offending posteriors and escape
squealing with delight as the victim rose angrily and helplessly from his or
her squatting position. Even now the ancient practice of squatting by the sea
is still seen in many parts of our beach.
The way it
was
The better off Vizagite living in pucca homes built
a walled space open to sky outside their homes. Several cement pedestals a foot
or two high were placed around the enclosure on which one squatted. The poo
just landed on the cement or mud floor below from where it was picked up by the
“chachadodu” in the morning. Incidentally the toilets also served as a
community interaction space when two or three defecators gathered and chatted of
things mundane and profound while they did the job under the starry sky. During
the rains, it was a challenge to manage the Geep torchlight, umbrella and the
chambu simultaneously. Larger homes had a room with largish wooden chairs that
had a hole in the middle. Fitted in the hole was an enamelled container. One
could sit on that wooden chair and evacuate into the potty quite comfortably.
After the task was done, some ash from the wood or charcoal stoves would be
spread into the pot and a lid would be placed on it to prevent the odour from escaping.
The chachadi would come around in the morning to take away the container, empty
the contents somewhere and return it to the wooden chair with the hole.
Thankfully that horrible practice of is now gone for ever.
Take a seat
Over time, the Asian ceramic toilet made
inroads into our homes. It was a marvel of technology when it first appeared. Two
serrated ceramic tiles on either side of the potty indicated where one placed
the feet. It was like yoga day every day.
A huge metal tank with a steel chain when yanked delivered a bucket load
of water to flush the contents out into a septic tank. It made a loud sound and
the whole neighbourhood knew that a flush was operated, it was very reassuring.
As one grew older the stress and strain on the knees was quite unbearable, and
thankfully by that time the modern “western commode” made its way into our
loos.
Is this
real?
There are many men, who still prefer to do
their morning ablutions in the open. Despite social pressures and ads in the
electronic, print and outdoor media, old habits die hard. It is a cultural
thing, a macho activity, a cigarette a chambu and the wide open spaces. You
feel like the Marlboro Man. Even as we send space ships to Mars, launch 20
satellites in one go, have a GDP growth rate of 7.5% and call ourselves a
modern country, half of India defecates in the open. The present government recognises
this problem and more than 80 lakh toilets have been built in the last year
alone. It was reported that in Vizag district more than 4,000 schools of which
1200 was in the agency areas needed toilets. Two thousand toilets were
constructed in super speed but most of them do not have water. The toilet building
stands there freshly painted but the kids rush off to the nearest bushes. Supreme
Court judges Dipak Misra and Prafulla Pant summed it up when they observed “a
toilet in structure is not a toilet in reality”.
Dirty stuff
While our stools inside our body are harmless
once they are out the salmonella and the ecoli become dangerous. Microorganisms
can cause dreadful diseases like cholera, hepatitis and typhoid. Parasites like
hookworms, protozoa and giardia could make us all quite sick. Estimating that
each Vizagite deliver 125 grams of stool each day, 20 lakh Vizagites will be
discharging a humongous 2.5 lakh kilograms of poo into our city every day.
Around 2 lakh population of Vizag have no toilets therefore around 25,000
kilograms of bacteria laden excreta lies around our city, it washes into our drains,
seeps into our ground and comes back to us eventually. The rest of Vizag has access
to loos connected either to septic tanks or to the sewage system. When septic
tanks are full, septic tankers suck out the poo and much of the pathogen laced stuff
is jettisoned in the open, usually near the beach. The homes that are connected
to the sewer system discharge their poo into the pipes which carry it to sewer
plants where (we hope) that they are treated in anaerobic digesters, settling
tanks, aeration basins and clarifiers till the water is good enough to be
re-used and the dried poo can be used as fertiliser. Does this all happen? Let’s
ask the authorities.
On the road
Anyone travelling by roads in and around Vizag,
especially ladies, have experienced the torture of finding a good public
toilet. And we want to promote tourism … ha! Petrol bunks are supposed to have
them but almost none are functional. Urinals are too high to use, flushes don’t
work, toilet seats are broken, brooms lie scattered everywhere, a filthy piece
of soap previously used by a hundred people is provided instead of liquid soap
and overall it is a third world experience. The oil company representatives would
not recognise a bad toilet even if a defective commode hit them on the head. If
you want to make a difference here is what you can do. The next time you drive
on the highway, use any bunk’s loo. Make a note of what does not work and take
some photographs on your smart phone for evidence. Look for the board
displaying the contact details of the company representatives. Call him, complain
and WhatsApp the pics to him. Then make your comments on the complaints book. Now,
if you have finished your coffee it is time to sit on your own special ivory throne
and contemplate the future of India’s loos.
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