Irrespective of numerous projects and plans forwarded and put in place by government and NGO initiatives on health, sanitation and public awareness in Madhes Province, an appalling fact has been revealed that a local level alone has over 4,000 households without toilet facilities.

Lahan Municipality of Siraha district was found to have no toilets for 4,200 households. It was disclosed after a recent survey conducted by the municipality itself. 

Of 24,700 houses in the municipality, 17 percent were deprived of access to toilets, posing a serious threat to health and sanitation.

Municipality Mayor Mahesh Prasad Chaudhary shared this information by organizing a press conference on Tuesday.

Contradictorily, Lahan Municipality was declared an open defecation free zone in 2017. "It is worrying that such a huge number of households are running without basic needs. Time has come to change the situation by reaching every household," he said.

Dalit, landless, poor and disaster-prone settlements are continuing open defecation. The local level made the preliminary analyses that lack of fecal sludge management center clean water was perpetuating the problem. Even the toilets built earlier were left useless, unrepaired.

Proper places for setting up toilets would be identified for the landless people. Even the settlement of the landless squatters could be changed along with the sanitation facility, he added.

The municipality has further planned to mobilize people's representatives, social activists, community associations, schools and youth groups for three months to visit the houses and remind the people of the need for toilets.

"Toilet is not only for defecation but an indication of health and dignity," Mayor Chaudhary said, adding that the sanitation drive is successful only when it has people's participation.

Meanwhile, World Toilet Day is observed every year on November 19.

Across the globe, 3.4 billion people are still living without safely managed sanitation.