Sanitation warrior - NDTV
55-year-old S. Damodaran founded NGO Gramalya in 1987 that helped in the implementation of all sanitation programmes of central government, from the Central Rural Sanitation Programme in the mid-80s to the Swachh Bharat Mission, in Southern states of the country
Written By: Barkha Mathur | Edited By: Sonia Bhaskar | November 19, 2020 हिन्दी मेंपढ़े
HIGHLIGHTS
- Mr. Damodaran has helped in constructing toilets in 500 schools
- Gramalaya started with an aim to help the poor access WASH facilities
- Mr. Damodaran involves community leaders to promote sanitation
New Delhi: Almost 35 years ago, when a 20-year-old S. Damodaran, a resident of Tiruchirappalli (Trichy), Tamil Nadu joined the National Service Scheme (NSS) in his college in Trichy and started visiting the nearby rural areas, he did not imagine how those trips to the villages would change his life and aspirations forever. The dire lack of access to safe drinking water, sanitation facilities and awareness about the importance of hygiene and cleanliness provoked Mr. Damodaran to act and bring about change. He founded a non-governmental organisation called Gramalaya after two years of field research, in 1987. Today, at the age of 55, Mr. Damodaran proudly boasts of dedicating over three decades of his life in ensuring access to WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) to people living in over 1,000 villages and several urban settlements across five Southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and one Union Territory of Puducherry.
During his three decades of work, Mr. Damodaran has managed to build over 6 lakh individual household toilets and 500 school toilets through Gramalaya, impacting the sanitation habits of more than 30 lakh people in South India. While talking to NDTV, Mr. Damodaran said,
We started by providing hand pumps to the communities in villages in South Inda. We soon realised that even after having a water source at home, people were not washing their hands and lacked knowledge about the importance of handwashing. So we started conducting workshops to raise awareness about handwashing. Almost every household was practising open defecation during that time and so in 1989 we expanded our work and started building Individual Household Toilets in collaboration with local governments under the country’s first sanitation programme called Central Rural Sanitation Programme (CRSP) which was launched by the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1986. CRSP was similar to PM Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). It was the first of its kind to provide financial assistance to below poverty level (BPL) families for constructing individual household toilets. By 1990, we started covering slum in areas in Tamil Nadu and later in other states.
Due to these efforts of Mr. Damodaran and a dedicated team of volunteers and community leaders, Kalmandhai, a slum under Tiruchirappalli City Corporation became the first Open Defecation Free (ODF) slum in India in 2002. It was followed by declaring Thandavampatti village of Tiruchirappalli district as the country’s first ODF village, 2003. Over the next 15 years, Gramalaya helped more than 200 slum areas and over 300 villages in South become ODF. The central government recognised the efforts of the NGO and in 2013, the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation approved it as one of the national key resource centres for providing training on water and sanitation to government officials and NGOs in South India. On October 2, 2017, Mr. Damodaran received ‘Toilet Titan Award’ from the Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu in an award ceremony.
Mr. Damodaran asserted that initially, convincing people to build toilets in their home was a
huge challenge. He said,
People were so used to defecating in the open fields, near rivers and ponds. This used to
contaminate the water and air of the area, giving rise to diseases such as Cholera and Typhoid.
Instances of stunting and cognitive impairment among children were also increasing but the
people did not want to change their habit. They were not open to the idea of constructing
toilets in their homes. This is because people tend to have certain myths and misconceptions
about toilets. Therefore, it became necessary to bring about a behaviour change in people by
educating them on developing good toilet habit and creating a demand for the toilet from their
side itself. This is a continuous process. Along with constructing toilets, it is absolutely
necessary to work on changing behaviours and developing habits through a number of IEC
(Information, Education and Communication) activities.
In order to construct toilets in a village, the NGO conducts a survey to identify villages that
have the lowest percentage of people with access to functioning toilet facilities. A team then
visits those villages, meets with local people and goes to each household to collect details
about their sanitation habits. Next, the organisation conducts village meetings by bringing the
villagers to an open defecation site which is then used as a backdrop to talk about safe
sanitation and the importance of having a toilet at home.
Toilet Is More Than Just A Four-Walled Structure, It Is A Way To A Healthy Life: Mr. Damodaran
While talking about the kind of toilets built by Gramalaya, Mr. Damodaran said
We have built various types of cost-effective pit toilet models, mainly single or twin pit. But in the last ten years, we have focused on twin pit pour-flush latrines measuring 4 ft (feet) x 4 ft. Households often use a bucket to flush the toilet. We have now started focusing on building twin pit latrines with a bathroom area to bathe in and incinerator facility for disposal of soiled sanitary pads. We call it a SMART toilet, and it measures 4 ft x 8 ft. We have built over 60,000 of SMART toilets across the Southern states. The twin pit pour-flush toilet is a more sustainable kind among various other models of toilet. Once the first pit is full, you can use the second pit. It takes about five to seven years to fill up a pit, and by that time, the faecal sludge in the first pit will become completely dry, like sand. Also, it is cheaper than a septic tank and the disposal is easy. The important factor is that the kind of toilets built and technologies used, have to be area appropriate, cost-effective, replicable and sustainable.
Mahadevi, a resident of Uppiliyakudi village, Pudukkottai district, who is a daily wage labourer
and formerly practised open defecation in nearby fields, shared how her life changed after she
got a toilet at home. She said
With two teenage daughters at home, fears about their safety was always there. I had it in my
mind that I had to build a toilet, no matter what. Each day we used to walk about a kilometre
with a mug in our hand, to find trees and bushes to hide and defecate. This used to be even
more difficult and shameful during menstruation. The elderlies, pregnant women, and people
with disabilities faced special challenges every day to perform the basic, most natural task of
relieving themselves. Having access to toilets within our homes has helped us all in so many
ways, thanks to Gramalaya.
According to Mr. Damodaran, for constructing toilets, Gramalaya receives financial support
from various CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) projects and from the local and state
governments.
While talking about the evolution of sanitation in the country and how successful the sanitation
programmes have been, Mr. Damodaran said,
I would like to focus on the positive picture here. Changing behaviour is not an easy feat but
over the years, with focused messaging, the governments have been able to generate a
demand for toilets from the community. It is a positive sign in itself. That being said, there is
still a lack of awareness in a large number of people that needs to be addressed. Along with
this, challenges like lack of resources or technical know-how have acted as barriers in the
success of sanitation programmes. Constant monitoring is another aspect missing from
sanitation programmes of the government
He further said that monitoring is extremely important for maintaining the gains made during
the execution of a project. He said,
Toilet built by us, even 20-30 years ago, under various government schemes are still under use
and are in good conditions. We have involved the people of the community in the monitoring
process in order to ensure that people continue using toilets.
While talking about the evil of manual scavenging, Mr. Damodaran asserted that in the rural
areas and slums where Gramalaya works, the practise has almost come to an end. He said,
There are hardly any septic tank toilets in the places we work at and so there is no need for
anyone to risk their lives by cleaning septic tanks and sewages. The state governments in South
India are also focusing on eliminating manual scavenging and are spending a lot on
rehabilitating the scavengers into various other means of livelihoods.
Going Beyond Toilet Construction
Beyond toilets, Gramalaya has been working on promoting Menstrual Hygiene Management
(MHM) among women and girls in Southern states. During the last six years, the organisation
has reached out to more than 8 lakh women and girls and helped them switch from unhygienic
ways of managing their periods to using eco-friendly reusable cloth pads. Mr. Damodaran said,
In the villages where we have been working since the past few years, we have gone door-todoor to give people- both women and men- education of hygiene during menstruation.
In 2018, a ward in Musiri town became the country’s first urban area and in 2019, ATK Nagar
village in Uppliyakudi panchayat became the rural area where 100 per cent of the menstruating
women and girls are using cloth pads and are practising safe and plastic-free menstrual hygiene
management.
Acknowledging the three-decade-long work of Mr. Damodaran and his organisation, Ms.
Amuthavalli, City Engineer, Trichy City Corporation, said that the organisation has been
instrumental in changing the sanitation scenario in Trichy which was ranked 39 among cities
with population more than one lakh in the Swachh Survekshan 2019. She said,
We have done a number of toilet constructions, awareness generation and capacity building
programmes over the past years with Gramalaya. The NGO has gained a good rapport with the
people in both urban and rural areas which is very important when it comes to an intervention
focusing on behaviour change. Not just toilet construction, Mr. Damodaran is also helping the
city in faecal sludge management. He is doing good work and I look forward to continue
working with him
Jayalakshmi, a 16-year-old girl who studies in Class 12 and sells cashews to support her family, has motivated fellow villagers to give up open defecation and has managed to bring toilets to each household of her village in Pudukottai district of Tamil Nadu
Written By: Barkha Mathur | Edited By: Sonia Bhaskar | October 28, 2020
HIGHLIGHTS
- Jayalakshmi has been chosen for an educational tour to NASA
- NGO Gramalaya reached out to Jayalakshmi to offer aid for travel to NASA
- Jayalakshmi requested Gramalaya to help her build toilets in her village
New Delhi: At a young age of 16 years, Jayalakshmi wears many hats. She is a student of Class 12, sole bread-earner of her family, a tuition teacher for Class 8 and 9 students and a social worker. The resident of Thiruvalluvar Nagar village of Adhanakottai panchayat in Pudukottai district of Tamil Nadu, Jayalakshmi has helped in eradicating the practice of open defecation from her village by raising awareness and motivating her fellow villagers to build individual household toilets. Taking support from a Tiruchirapalli based voluntary organisation ‘Gramalaya’ that has been working towards sanitation and rural development since 1987, Jayalakshmi has managed to build 125 individual household toilets covering all families in her village.
It all started when Jayalakshmi won an online competition conducted by a private organisation
and got an opportunity to visit NASA (National Aeronautics And Space Administration) facility
in the USA. She started receiving support from various people and organisations who offered
to fund her visit to NASA. Gramalaya was one of the organisations that came forwards to help
her realise her dream of visiting NASA. However, Jayalakshi requested S. Damodaran, Founder
of Gramalaya to channelise the support offered towards building individual household toilets
in her village. While speaking to NDTV, Jayalakshmi, whose trip to NASA has been postponed
to the next year due to the pandemic, said,
For years, people in my village including myself and my family had to walk about two kilometres
towards a forest for defecation. Of a total of 130 families in our hamlet, 125 did not have toilets.
Girls and women especially faced many problems as we had to walk past a wine shop each
time, we had to relieve ourselves in the open. Boys and men loiter around the wine shop all the
time which used to make us very uncomfortable because of which many of us used to control
ourselves to avoid going in the open. This used to cause stomach ache and headaches also.
Jayalakshmi added that she was already aware about Gramalaya and their hygiene
programmes and so she took the opportunity to request the NGO to help construct toilets. She
said that initially the villagers were hesitant and so she had to go door-to-door to talk to them
and explain to them the benefit of using a toilet. Appreciating the efforts of Jayalakshmi, Mr.
Damodaran said,
We got to know from the media that a poor girl was facing financial crunch to visit the USA.
So, we approached her. She requested us to visit the village and lend our experience and funds
in building toilets. When we reached her village, we found the village to be extremely backward
with individual toilets in five households out of a total of 130 households. As Jayalakshmi told
us that she has already got adequate funds for the NASA visit, we started the project of
providing villagers with one good 4feetX8feet toilet per household.
Mr. Damodaran further said that some households had built toilet under the Swachh Bharat
Mission (SBM) but a lot of those were not functional or have been damaged by the cyclone.
According to Mr. Damodaran, the households have contributed about Rs. 5,000 worth of
material and labour for each toilet and the rest of the fund has been aided by the NGO in
association with Bank of America.
The people of Jayalakshmi’s village recognise her contribution in providing them with toilets.
Deivanai, a 40-year-old women said that the toilets built by Gramalaya also has enough space
for bathing. She said that the community is very happy and thankful to the young social worker.
She said,
We are a five-member family including my three teenagers who are using this toilet. I am glad
that now we don’t have to go to the forest area for defecation. We will maintain and use our
household toilet.
Another resident Chinnathal, a 47-year-old woman thanked Jayalakshmi for her efforts and the
NGO for their support. She highlighted that toilets are a basic need of the people and this simple
thing alone can prove to be transformative in the future in terms of health and hygiene of the
people in the village.
Jayalakshmi lives with her mother who is undergoing treatment for mental illness and her 13-
year-old brother. The family of three receives some support from her uncle. Jayalakshmi who
aspires to become a civil servant, currently does odd jobs, mostly engaged in processing and
selling cashew. While signing off she said
My father had abandoned us when I was little. My mother is suffering from a mental illness. In
this struggle, I find inspiration in my teachers. They encourage me to keep going and strive for
a better future. They also helped me get a passport. I want to study Law and join civil service
in future. I want to change the situation of my village and many other villages like mine.
When a non-government organisation came forward to help Jayalakshmi in Tamil Nadu's village fulfill her dream of going to the NASA facility in the US, she refused the offer and instead asked it to help her village by building toilets.
All IndiaWritten by J Sam DanielUpdated: October 14, 2020 10:02 pm IST by Taboola
Chennai: Devi Arivalagan, a resident of a village in Tamil Nadu, said for years she and her family had to walk for around a kilometer towards a forest area for defecation. But now, thanks to a teenage girl in their village, that no longer is an issue.
When she won an online competition last year to visit the NASA facility in the US, help poured in with funds from various sectors for Jayalakshmi -- a 16-year-old studying in Class 12 in Adhanakottai village of Tamil Nadu's Pudukottai district.
The girl is the sole earner of her family which includes a mentally-disabled mother and a
younger brother.
However, after securing a sufficient amount to realise her dream, the girl turned down an offer
from a non-government organisation and instead asked it to help her village which was facing
the problem of open-defecation since many years
The Non-Government Organisation (NGO), Gramalaya, immediately took up her plea and set
to work.
It asked each family to lay a simple foundation for the toilet at their house and provide sand for
construction. The villagers, mostly working as farm labourers, helped in the construction to
save money
The organisation spent around ₹ 20,000 each to build toilets for over 125 families living in the
village.
"I always thought after I secure a job I should do something for my district Pudukottai, and
state Tamil Nadu. Now through Gramalaya, I have done it," Jayalakshmi said
The girl is the sole earner of her family.
Devi Arivalagan said: "Now, our next generation, our daughter, need not go to another place
kilometres away.
A student, Eswari, said the toilets have also helped keep girls of the village safe. "On the way
(to the forest), there is a government liquor shop. They stared at us, and often young girls
returned without defecation. The whole day, they suffered from stomach aches and other
problems," she said
Villagers said apart from solving the problem of health and hygiene, it helped them save time
to focus on their work too, which is peeling and selling cashews
CEO and Founder of Gramalaya, Damodaran, said: "When we were ready to support her
(Jayalakshmi's) travel cost to the US, instead of accepting our support, she requested
Gramalaya to build toilets for all houses in the village. That inspired us."
Jayalakshmi is a class topper and wants to become an IAS officer and help fulfill her younger
brother's dreams as well. She also helps other students through a youth network, Puratchi
Vidhaigal. Due to the ongoing pandemic, her trip to the US has been postponed to next year.
II. MISSION PAANI
#নয়ামদমি: আমাদের দেদের মদ া জনবহুল এলাকায় স্যাননদেেদনর অভাব, স্বাস্থ্যনবনি এবং পনরচ্ছন্ন ার গুরুত্ব স্ম্পদকেঅননভজ্ঞ া েৃষ্টি আকর্ েণ কদরনিল ানমলনাড়ুর এক য়ুবদকর। প্রায় ৩৫ বির আদেই স্াই োদমােরন (Sai Damodaran) যখন ানমলনাড়ুর ন রুনিরাপল্লীদ াাঁর কদলদজর নযােনাল স্ানভেস্ নিম (NSS) ইউননদের স্েস্য নিদলন, খন ন নন ননয়নম াাঁর কািাকানি গ্রামীণ এলাকা পনরেে েন করদ ন এবং দখালা স্থ্াদন মল যাদের স্মস্যা স্ম্পদকেস্থ্ানীয় মান়ুর্দক স্দি ন করদ ন।
১৯৮৭ স্াদল োদমােরন গ্রামালয় (Gramalaya) নাদম একষ্টে দবস্রকানর স্ংস্থ্া প্রন ষ্ঠা কদরন। আজ ৫৫ বির বয়দস্ োদমােরন পাাঁিষ্টে েনিণী রাজয ানমলনাড়ু, কন োেক, অন্ধ্রপ্রদেে, দ লঙ্গানা জদ়ুড প্রায় ১,০০০ষ্টেরও দবনে গ্রাদম এবং দবে কদয়কষ্টে েহুদর এলাকায় বস্বাস্কারীদের জল, স্যাননদেেন এবং হাইজজন উপলব্ধ করার জনয াাঁর জীবন উৎস্ে েকরদিন।
োদমােরন এবং াাঁর দস্বচ্ছাদস্বকদের েল ে ন ন েেদক প্রায় ৬ লদিরও দবনে পনরবাদরর
েয়দলে এবং ৫০০ষ্টে ি়ু ল েয়দলে ত নর কদরদি। ২০০২ স্াদল ন রুনিরাপল্লী নস্ষ্টে নমউনননস্পযাল
কদপ োদরেদনর অিীদন একষ্টে বজি কলমান্ধাইদক ভারদ র প্রথম উন্ম়ুক্ত স্থ্াদন মল যাে ম়ুক্ত
(ODF) বজি নহস্াদব দ ার্ণা করা হদয়নিল। োদমােরদনর জীবদন এ এক উদল্লখদযােয েনা।
োদমােরন ব েমাদন ২৪ষ্টে কম খরদির েয়দলদের মদেল এবং েয়দলে প্রয়ুজক্ত ও প্রনেিদণর জনয
একষ্টে দকন্দ্রও ত নর কদরদিন। পানীয় জল ও স্যাননদেেন মন্ত্রক (Ministry of Drinking Water
and Sanitation) ২০১৩ স্াদল েনিণ ভারদ জল এবং স্যাননদেেন নবর্দয় প্রনেিণ দেওয়ার জনয
গ্রামালয়দক একষ্টে জা ীয় স্ংস্থ্ান দকন্দ্র নহস্াদব অন়ুদমানে কদরদি৷ োদমােরন একই স্দঙ্গ
দকন্দ্র, রাজয স্রকার এবং আন্তজোন ক স্ংস্থ্াগুনলর স্দঙ্গ ননষ্ঠভাদব কাজ কদর িদলদিন।
Dire lack of access to sanitation facilities and awareness about the importance of hygiene and cleanliness caught Sai Damodaran’s attention almost 35 years ago.
News18.com | Updated: November 18, 2021, 1:23 PM IST
Expert It’s a matter of concern when people relieve themselves in fields, bushes, forests, water bodies, or any other open spaces, rather than using a toilet. The dire lack of access to sanitation facilities and awareness about the importance of hygiene and cleanliness caught Sai Damodaran’s attention almost 35 years ago when he was a member of the National Service Scheme (NSS) unit of his college in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. He visited the nearby rural areas and decided to act on the problem of open defecation
In 1987, Damodaran founded a non-governmental organisation (NGO) called Gramalaya. Today,
at the age of 55, Damodaran has dedicated his life to provide access to WASH (Water,
Sanitation and Hygiene) to those living in over 1,000 villages and several urban areas across
five Southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and the
Union Territory of Puducherry.
Damodaran and his team of volunteers have built over 6 lakh individual household toilets and
500 school toilets in the past three decades. The sanitation facilities built through Gramalaya
have impacted the cleanliness habits of over 30 lakh people across the southern states.
Kalmandhai, a slum under Tiruchirappalli City Municipal Corporation, was declared as India’s
first open-defecation free (ODF) slum in 2002. Soon after, in 2003, Thandavampatti, a
habitation of 62 homes in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruchirappalli district, was declared as India’s first ODF
village. This was a significant achievement for Damodaran’s team
Gramalaya has helped over 200 slum areas and more than 300 villages in the southern part of
the country to become open defecation free over the years.
S Damodaran has also developed 24 low-cost toilet models and a centre for toilet technology
and training.
The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation in 2013 approved Gramalaya as one of the
national key resource centres for providing training on water and sanitation to government
officials and NGOs across south Indian states.
Damodaran has devoted his lifetime only for promoting household toilet facilities for the rural
poor, urban poor, people living in the coastal regions, tribal areas and in town panchayats. He
has worked closely with the Centre, State Governments and international donor organisations.
He has also been involved in the sanitation programmes such as CRSP introduced in the 1980s,
TSC in the 1990s, NBA in the 2000s and Swachh Bharat Mission Programme launched in 2014.
Damodaran has empowered thousands of women and adolescent girls economically, socially
and in terms of health through household toilet usage and hygiene education.
On October 2, 2017, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu honoured Damodaran with the ‘Toilet
Titan Award’.
Mission Paani, an initiative by News18 and Harpic India, aims to create awareness towards
access to clean water, safe sanitation and hygiene for all. The campaign aims at creating
awareness about safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene by amplifying all efforts made by
individuals, organisations and government bodies.
S Damodaran will join an esteemed panel of guests at Mission Paani’s World Toilet Day event
to share his insights on safe sanitation and hygiene for all. His expertise on inclusive sanitation
will give a new direction to Mission Paani’s objective of safe sanitation and hygiene for all.
Sanitation workers often work in hazardous conditions risking their lives
News18.com | Updated: January 27, 2022, 4:05 PM IST
Sanitation workers often work in hazardous conditions risking their lives. They face several
health risks due to the toxic fumes from drains and clogged sewage lines. Though they keep
our cities clean they earn a paltry sum and face asocial discrimination
Life was no different for 38-year-old Chitra. She had been cleaning clogged toilets and
collecting waste from households for 13 years but her life changed when she came in contact
with Gramalaya
“I have been collecting waste from households for the last 13 years, besides cleaning community
toilets. I found it more convenient to work with bare hands, so that’s what I did, without realising
the dangers of it. I would clean clogged toilets by putting my hands into the toilet filled with
faecal matter and soiled sanitary napkins. I put up with the stink and the dirt, but then started
having trouble breathing. The doctor told me to beware of bronchial disease.”
Fortunately, Chitra, who works with the Tiruchirappalli City Corporation in Tamil Nadu, came
across Gramalaya, a non-governmental organisation which works for the welfare of sanitation
workers, where she attended many sessions with health educators. Chitra learnt the dangers of
faecal transmission and exposure to cleaning chemicals. The trainers of Gramalaya educated
her on safety gear and equipment
She also learnt about insurance and government schemes and was assisted with her children’s
education.
“My kids now have a secure future and I’m in much better health. I’ve been using safety gear at
work, eating more nutritious food and have been going for regular medical consultations,” she
adds
‘101 Stories of Inspiration’, a coffee table book, carries many stories of transformation of
sanitation workers like Chitra. The book was launched at the Mission Paani World Toilet Day
event on November 19, 2021.
Selva Mary used to work for Tiruchirappalli City Corporation in Tamil Nadu, where she cleaned community toilets in slums.
News18.com | Updated: February 3, 2022, 4:33 PM IST
Selva Mary used to work for Tiruchirappalli City Corporation in Tamil Nadu, where she cleaned
community toilets in slums. She used to segregate waste with bare hands without any safety
gear and PPE kits risking her health every day
“People would dispose of unwanted materials like bottles, plastic sheets and even soiled
napkins and clothes used during their menstrual cycles. I had no option but to remove them
with my bare hands. I often carried the stench with me, in my mind, while going about my
everyday life. But that wasn’t all. I was also often at the receiving end of slurs and various forms
of abuse from the very slum dwellers I was cleaning up after,” says Selva.
However, things took a turn for the better after Mary attended various health education
programmes at Gramalaya, an NGO working for the welfare and rehabilitation of manual
scavengers. Selva now uses safety gears while working and follows hygiene practices
“The good people at Gramalaya have persistently encouraged us and insisted we use safety
gear while working. They’ve also inculcated a number of hygiene practices that have made my
work easier and safer,” says Selva
Besides, the periodical medical check-ups, by the NGO, have ensured good health for her
family. Mary is now an office bearer at a unique community-based organisation (CBO) formed
by Gramalaya. She is also working for the welfare of fellow sanitation workers in her locality
“I feel very proud to be able to educate my fellow workers and family, besides doing better
myself,” beams Selva
‘101 Stories of Inspiration’, a coffee table book, chronicles many such stories of success and
transformation of sanitation workers. The book was launched, on November 19, 2021, at the
Mission Paani World Toilet Day event
N Kumar used to clean toilets and drains for years with Tiruchirappalli City Corporation in Tamil Nadu that too without any gloves, masks.
News18.com | Updated: February 3, 2022, 4:40 PM IST
N Kumar used to clean toilets and drains for years with Tiruchirappalli City Corporation in Tamil
Nadu that too without any gloves, masks or other safety equipment. Like many other sanitation
workers, N Kumar also developed skin infections due to lack of safety measures
Sanitation workers often expose themselves to hazardous working conditions and face the risk
of serious diseases. Lack of awareness and safety gear also make the situation worse for them.
The situation was no different for N Kumar till he met a health educator from Gramalaya, an
NGO working in the sanitation sector
“For a very long time, I suffered from a bad case of scabies. As a sanitation worker with the
Tiruchirapalli City Corporation, I had been cleaning toilets and drains for years, without any
gloves, masks, or other safety equipment. I worked even when my health did not permit it,
causing the sores and rashes to get aggravated, increasing my suffering,” says N Kumar.
When a health educator from Gramalaya visited Kumar that is when he figured what was going
on with him.
“There are so many different kinds of viruses and bacteria that live in the sewers. The scabies
and other rashes had been caused by faecal oral transmission,” adds N Kumar.
Gramalaya not only trained Kumar in safety procedures but also provided him with safety kits.
“They insisted we were to wash our hands frequently—with soap—and wear our gloves and
masks diligently,” recalls Kumar.
Today, Kumar is free of all infections and is leading a happy, healthy life. He regularly uses
safety gears and follows all safety norms while at work.
A coffee table book titled ‘101 Stories of Inspiration’ chronicles many stories of transformation
of sanitation workers like N Kumar. The book was launched at the Mission Paani World Toilet
Day event on November 19, 2021.
III. SAFAIGIRI AWARDS 2017
When his NGO helped make thandavampatti, a habitation of 62 homes in Tamil Nadu's Tiruchirappalli district, into India's first open-defecation free (ODF) village in 2003, Gramalaya's Founder S.Damodaran, 55, could not have imagined that the initiative would one day transform into a massive drive. Now, he runs a successful campaign for total sanitation in villages and slums across South India (excluding Kerala), and has already helped 47 villages and 100 slums achieve the ODF tag so far
Gramalaya, launched in 1987, works towards a larger goal: integrated development of women and children in rural areas through economic and health empowerment. In the initial years, the major focus was on education about hygiene and safe drinking water, including the installation of India Mark II hand pumps with deep bore wells for the supply of drinking water. Soon, it discovered that among other problems, open defecation resulted in the pollution of surface water bodies and drinking water sources.
Damodaran changed the track. Rural intervention
was planned to cover safe drinking water supply through hand pumps, piped water supply
through individual tap connection and sanitary household toilets in the villages coupled with
hygiene education. By switching to the comprehensive approach, Gramalaya has formed SHE
(Sanitation and Hygiene Education) Teams and AWASH (Association for Water, Sanitation and
Hygiene) Committees so that the community ownership could be enlisted for sustainable
sanitation practices and development.
"By empowering the teams and committees, a sense of ownership grew in the communities
being served, which led to long-lasting behavioral changes against OD and toward an open
discharge free environment", says Damodaran. His outreach is through five thematic
interventions : safe water, sustainable sanitation models, hygiene education including washing
hands, menstrual hygiene management and nutrition.
The project areas of Gramalaya are provided with 100 percent sanitation coverage by
promoting individual household toilet facilities. It works on a three-pronged strategy: health
empowerment through toilets, safe drinking water and hygiene education and economic
empowerment. This is done with the support of the government, corporate social responsibility
initiatives and donor organization, including banks, who provide micro finance loans for
sanitation. Considering the delays in the granting of incentives (subsidies) for toilet
construction to individual families form the government, Gramalaya founded GUARDIANS
(Gramalaya Urban and Rural Development Initiatives and Network for Sanitation), which offers
sanitation loans to women to build toilets, thus easing the pressure on government agencies.
Another of Damodaran's initiatives is the SMART- Safe/Sustainable, Maintainable, Affordable,
Recyclable and Technically perfect- toilet concept Innovative methods are being made use of
for waste management, including the recycling of waste into manure via composting and the
use of bath water to raise kitchen gardens. Damodaran is also responsible for the development
of 24 low-cost toilet models, including child-friendly toilets, water-saving toilet pans, baby
pans, community-managed pay- and -use toilet systems, school health intervention systems
and even a center for toilet technology and training. This has prompted other NGOs to
approach him to provide training on water, sanitation and community development. The UNDP
designed pour-flush twin pit toilet with a diversion chamber, for example, is one model that has
seen successful promotion.
Gramalaya has helped in more ways than one. It has helped create a safe, hygienic environment,
thereby handling issues of safety and reducing healthcare costs that were high in families who
had no recourse but to defecate in the open. Overall lifestyle has improved because of the
availability of toilets at their doorsteps. "The initial challenges we faced were in mobilizing the
community to create a demand for the toilets, educating them about their use and hygiene and
maintenance, besides designing technically perfect toilet models so suit different terrains,"
recalls Damodaran. "other issues were in raising funds to provide more toilets and working with
likeminded organizations."
Having successfully executed model projects in rural, urban, coastal and tribal areas with its
toilets, strategies and approaches in the south, Gramalaya is planning to reach five more states
in north India and scale up operations for making an OD- free India. The big clean-up, aimed at
reaching 10 million households with sustainable sanitation in the next five years to supplement
the efforts of the Swachh Bharat Mission, is part of its national commitment. Damodaran's goal
is to contribute by helping build toilets in one of every ten of those homes.
This write up was written by India Today Group as a part of Safaigiri Awards 2017 wherein Toilet Titan Award title given to S.Damodaran, Founder of Gramalaya by the Vice-President of India Shri.Venkaiah Naidu on 2nd October, 2017 at New Delhi. For more info : www.gramalaya.org
New Delhi October 2, 2017 UPDATED: October 2, 2017 22:45 IST
The third edition of India Today Safaigiri Awards felicitated 16 cleanliness champions at a
glittering event that saw Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu in attendance.
The Safaigiri awards were launched in 2015 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi nominated the
India Today Group and its Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Aroon Purie as ambassadors of Swachh
Bharat Abhiyan
This year, the India Today Group also recogised women safai warriors who have brought about
change in their village and district. Actor Bhumi Pednekar gave away special awards to
these Swachhta hi Seva champions
October 03, 2017
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu with India Today Safaigiri Awards winner at a function in New
Delhi
The third edition of India Today Safaigiri Awards felicitated 16 cleanliness champions at a
glittering event that saw Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu in attendance.
The Safaigiri awards were launched in 2015 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi nominated the
India Today Group and its Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Aroon Purie as ambassadors of Swachh
Bharat Abhiyan. This year, the India Today Group also recognised women safai warriors who
have brought about change in their village and district. Actor Bhumi Pednekar gave away
special awards to these Swachhta hi Seva champions.
Naidu said, "Felicitation is to give inspiration to others" at the third edition of India Today
Safaigiri Awards.
Venkaiah Naidu, who was in attendance at the Safaigiri Awards last year as a Union minister,
said that earlier it was his duty to attend such events but now it is a matter of pleasure. "I have
retired from politics but not tired from public life," Naidu said as the audience smiled.
Commending India Today for honouring citizens who are doing pioneering work in the field of
cleanliness and sanitation, Naidu said, "Media hold enormous potential for influencing public
opinion and awards like these will give a big boost to citizens and corporates to donate time
and efforts to the cause of Swachhata."
“Challenges in India are far more complex; India is culturally diverse, it is more densely
populated, there is scarcity of water, and there is stigma associated with emptying pits which
even Mahatma Gandhi could not help us erase,” said India Today Group Chairman and Editorin-Chief Aroon Purie
The winners of Safaigiri 2017 are:
Corporate Trailblazer :
Bharti Foundation
Community Mobiliser:
Shirish Apte
CHECK THESE OUT:
Garbage Guru:
Green Nerds
Tech Icon:
Sharad Kale
Toilet Titan:
S Damodaran of Gramalaya
Best River Cleaning Initiative:
Thoothapuzha Samrakshana Samithi
Water Saviour:
Dilasa
Best PPP for Cleanliness:
Hindustan Zinc
Best Sanitation App:
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and Janaagraha
Cleanest Religious Place:
Golden Temple
Cleanest City:
Vadodara
Cleanest District:
Mahe, Puducherry
Cleanest Village:
Mawlynnong, Meghalaya
Most Effective Swachhta Ambassador:
Amitabh Bachchan
Best Asian Government Cleanliness Initiative:
Bangladesh
Best Global Cleanliness Initiative:
Waste to Energy, Sweden
IV. SWACHHATA CHAMPION
Having constructed more than 6 lakh individual household toilets and over 500 school toilets, the founder of Gramalaya in Tiruchirappalli District of Tamil Nadu is a swachhata champion in the truest sense, a distinction for which he was honoured with a Padma Shri in 2022. In this interview S. Damodaran talks about comprehensive interventions that are needed for ODF sustainability and the importance of community participation to bring about lasting change.
1. What led you down the sanitation path?
As a NSS volunteer in college, I travelled to many villages in and around Tiruchirappalli where I saw the numerous struggles of communities - for basic necessities such as clean drinking water and safe sanitation. They suffered from various health issues that stemmed from the faecal oral route to disease transmission. Thereafter, participating in relief operations after major floods, made me realise that I wanted to make a fundamental difference in the lives of the village communities. I joined Anthyodaya Foundation for Rural Development as a grass root worker, only to realise that there was much work to be done and it had to begin with me. With the motivation of like-minded friends, I started Gramalaya in 1987 to provide sustainable sanitation solutions.
2. As early as 2003, you had made Thandavampatti village ODF. Could you explain the process?
We visited Thandavampatti hamlet which had a population of 276 individuals from 69 households and
held discussions with the women SHGs. We learnt that men and children used the single lane NamakkalThuraiyur road to relieve themselves during the day and the women during the night. The women
reluctantly admitted to their strife. While vehicle drivers abused them for squatting close to the road,
farmers complained of faeces in the fields and about the tethering ropes of their animals being coated
with faeces. It was a transect walk through the village when people saw for themselves the faeces
scattered all over, that convinced the community that they needed an alternative.
Offered a choice, the people opted for their own toilets. A sanitation ladder was drawn, showing various
technology options after which, the water-saving dry pit latrine was selected. As many as 13 houses began
the process of digging the necessary three-foot deep pits and covered them with a cement slab with a
drop hole and wooden cover, and old thatched mats and jute bags served as a superstructure, with a cloth
covering the doorway. Thandavampatti hamlet in Araichi village Panchayat was declared open defecation
free on January 26, 2003. The remaining hamlets and the main village soon followed suit.
3. What are the five pillars of sanitation? Can you describe your intervention in each?
My team and I realised early on that if interventions should lead to lasting change and sustainability, they
had to be comprehensive. They had to address the five pillars of sanitation namely safe drinking water,
sanitary toilets, handwashing and personal hygiene, menstrual hygiene management and nutrition and
our vision was revised accordingly. We began to work in all these areas, keeping in line with the various
sanitation programmes of the Government of India.
When it came to promoting sanitary toilets, we studied various models of toilets such as leach pit toilets
and fibre reinforced toilet pans to suit the rural community. While we generated awareness amongst the
community and provided technical support, the community was mobilised to construct toilets on their
own.
Handwashing and personal hygiene are key to good health and so we promoted the same in schools and
women groups. Even if people had toilets, handwashing was vital to maintain good health. As far as
menstrual hygiene management was concerned, in addition to taboos faced by women during
menstruation, it was a subject that was not talked about openly. Plenty of trash which constituted
hazardous waste was strewn about polluting the environment. We took this up in a big way as we
advocated separate toilets for boys and girls in schools and use of cloth pads instead of pads containing
plastic. Further, in all our community meetings we stressed the importance of nutrition.
4. What in your opinion will help sustain the ODF status of villages?
Our work cannot stop with the construction of toilets. People face all kinds of problems – some with toilets
becoming dysfunctional or their roofs destroyed owing to cyclones or other calamities. They need support
for renovation, retrofitting as also regular awareness on hygiene and safe sanitation.
I recall our interventions in Mandapam and Ramnad Blocks of Ramanathapuram (an aspirational district)
that was supported with CSR funds of the NSEF-Mumbai. We worked on this project for 3 years–
renovating and retrofitting toilets and making functional the abandoned and unused toilets, ensuring
hygiene education, as well as access to water and sanitation and MHM in schools and anganwadis.
All our activities led to the WASHMAN concept which stands for water, sanitation, hygiene, menstrual
hygiene management and nutrition. Currently, in the areas where we work, there are WASHMAN
committees in every village each with 15-20 members to whom we provide incentives.
We have also worked in 25 urban slums, constructing 25 community sanitary complexes to cater to
households that did not have space for individual toilets. To operate and maintain these pay-and-use
facilities we formed SHE (sanitation and Hygiene) teams. To create a ripple effect, we began WAVE
(Women’s Association for Village Empowerment) teams and built their capacities to promote hygiene
education and child friendly toilets in schools, and also to renovate and maintain toilets to ensure usage.
This model was replicated and gradually, our interventions led to the ODF declaration of 600 villages and
200 slums.
5. What is the best way to mobilise people and ensure community participation?
Community based organizations (CBOs) are the backbone of Gramalaya in all its programmes. CBOs
include women self-help groups, panchayat-level federations, AWASH committees, children self-help
groups, SHE – Teams (Sanitation and Hygiene Education Teams), Village Water and Sanitation Committees
(VWSC), Village Development Committees etc. These CBOs which are important stakeholders of any
project, should be given orientation and entrusted with the responsibilities of planning, implementation,
monitoring and follow up of water and sanitation programmes.
In the villages in which we have worked, the leaders of the CBOs are the community change agents in
their respective areas. Once they are formed, they are stabilized and provided with capacity building
training, exposure visits, hygiene education, leadership training at Gramalaya. They serve as a bridge
between the NGO, Government and the communities and work as a watch-dog in terms of monitoring
and conducting follow-up activities. In that sense they are the real implementing agencies at the fieldlevel while the role of Gramalaya remains as a facilitator and catalyst. After the implementation phase,
the CBOs take over the project and ensure sustainability. Significantly, the CBOs are given adequate
representation by different sectors of the community and genders and function in either a formal or
informal capacity, depending on the requirement of the project.
6. Could you tell us about the Harpic World Toilet College in Trichy?
There are 3000-5000 sanitation workers as per the data of the Tiruchirappalli City Corporation who are involved in cleaning, collection of waste, compost making, cleaning toilets in hospitals, schools and private establishments, majority of who belong to impoverished communities. Through the college that was started with the support of Reckitt Benckiser, we aim to enhance their skills, generate awareness about safe practices, provide cleaning agents and safe equipment to handle waste, rehabilitate them and their aging family members and link them to dignified alternative livelihood options. It is our intention to create a cadre of certified swachhata ambassadors who would provide customised sanitation solutions for households and the community.
7. What is the way forward for Gramalaya?
Gramalaya plans to scale up its operations across 10 states in the next five years including MHM, and Nutrition programmes along with water and sanitation issues. We aim to provide 10 million families with safe and sustainable sanitation infrastructure and impact the lives of women and adolescent girls through our MHM and nutrition interventions. In this regard, we would provide capacity building, technical and financial support to partners working in the sector.