Hold it

Loo and behold

Sir — Even if every Indian household was to be provided with plush toilets and running water, it is doubtful if Indians would ever stop urinating and defecating in the open (“After trillion, target No. 2”, April 28). The reasons are historical and biological. The high fibre-content in Indian meals and the water intake, owing to the hot and humid climate, make Indians defecate more frequently than their Western counterparts. Indians also suffer from perpetual stomach ailments because of the inferior quality of potable water. As they cannot live in the comfort of their homes throughout the day, nor use public toilets as and when required, they often need to relieve themselves in the open. The sight of people defecating along railway tracks in the morning is distasteful no doubt. But one should remember that most occurrences of cracks in the railway track (caused by contractions in the metal because of changes in temperature) are reported by these people, thus saving lives and railway property.

Yours faithfully,
Tapan Pal, Batanagar

Sir — Indian villages lack not only decent sanitation facilities but also other necessities like roads, transport, electricity and potable water. Villagers in remote areas have to trudge over miles to fetch water. So, the symbolic presence of a toilet in the vicinity will not make a difference to their behavioural patterns. Where water is precious, it is futile to think of flushing away faeces with water. The Nirmal Gram project of the rural development ministry has not been very successful in providing toilets to villages and rural schools. Again, it will be a Herculean task to provide toilets to millions of urban slum-dwellers. Therefore, if India wants to project an impeccable image of itself to foreigners, it must rehabilitate them. Besides, the success of the government’s utopian scheme will depend on the ethics and efficiency of its officials. It would do well to remember that it has not yet succeeded with its polio-eradication campaign.

Yours faithfully,
S. Mukherjee, Burdwan

Sir — The government cannot stop with merely enunciating a policy or spelling out a target. It should support NGOs working on public sanitation projects and provide them with financial assistance as well. However, too much involvement of politicians and bureaucrats is not desirable since that would result in embezzlement of large portions of the funds provided.

Yours faithfully,
M.K. Roy, Calcutta

Money for nothing

Sir — It is ridiculous to rejoice at India’s becoming a trillion-dollar economy (“Billion with a trillion on paper”, April 27). India’s entry into this so-called elite club is based primarily on the rise in the value of the rupee against the dollar. It should be remembered that almost 220 million Indians are marked as poor, both in rural and urban areas. Given the widespread poverty, the euphoric growth rate of India’s GDP is, therefore, only a partial success for the country. The rise in the value of goods and services mean nothing since millions of Indians cannot afford them. With a population of over a billion, and with its record of illiteracy, inflation and corruption, India’s newfound status is meaningless.

Yours faithfully,
Lubna Salim, Calcutta

Sir — India comes under a special category of ‘super-rich’ countries, where an overwhelming majority of the population finds it tough to make both ends meet. Therefore, one must ask where the trillion-dollar GDP is concentrated since there is no visible uplift of the poor. Three-quarters of the profit made at the share market is monopolized by about 10 million shareholders of the top 50 corporate houses. These business entities are proudly described as the wealth-creators in India. But how sound is the Indian economy when even the combined wealth of the rest comes nowhere close to theirs? This means that a billion people are engaged in creating wealth for a minuscule minority of the population. One may be proud at finding India in the trillion-dollar club. But Indians must remember that the condition of its people below the poverty line is as bad as those who live in a civil-war-ravaged African country.

Yours faithfully,
G.D. Dujari, Calcutta

Sir — India’s status as a trillion-dollar economy is merely a technical feat, and not a measure of any actual increase in prosperity. So, let us not celebrate a non-event.

Yours faithfully,
B.C. Gupta, Howrah

Erratum

In “Why remember” (April 21), the review of a programme in memory of Rajeswari Datta, the reviewer’s reference to Indrani Bhattacharya was entirely by mistake. The artist was supposed to perform, but did not. The error is regretted.

— The Editor