Surat’s identity as India’s Diamond City and one of its cleanest cities rests on millions of migrant workers who built its industries, contributed to its transformation and continue to face economic insecurity, inadequate labour protections and uncertain futures. Ask most people what Surat is known for, and they will say diamonds, or silk, or perhaps…
The article examines the challenges of sanitation, menstrual hygiene and unequal access to clean toilets in India. Through personal accounts, community initiatives and policy developments, it highlights caste-based discrimination, poor sanitation infrastructure, menstrual stigma and the need for dignity, gender equality and sustainable sanitation systems. Modern civilisation has turned unproblematic natural phenomena into insurmountable problems….
AKSHAY KUMAR From a film about household toilets to beach bio-toilets and ministry campaigns, the actor’s decade on water, sanitation and hygiene shows both the reach and the limits of celebrity advocacy As of 17 September 2026, a government factsheet shows, rural India has built over 12.22 crore household toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen,…
Cities are building toilets from scrap buses and recycled plastic. The harder test is whether dignity reaches the women, transgender persons and informal workers who depend on public sanitation most. A scrap bus at Bengaluru’s Majestic terminal now serves as a women-only toilet with Indian and Western commodes, a sanitary-napkin vending machine, a burner and…
The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $ 230 million loan on August 21 to rebuild Chennai’s water and sewer network. Deputy Secretary Saurabh Singh signed on behalf of India’s Department of Economic Affairs, and ADB India Country Director Mio Oka signed for the bank, under the guidance of Joint…
Ask most people what Surat is known for, and they will say diamonds, or silk, or perhaps the fact that it is one of India’s cleanest cities. Almost nobody will say the real answer: Surat is, more than anything else, a city built entirely by people who came from somewhere else. At various points over…
Delhi’s waste crisis in Ward 42 highlights how decades of unequal urban planning and poor sanitation continue to impact low-income colonies like Mangolpuri and Sultanpuri. Overflowing dhalaos, weak waste segregation, and failing civic infrastructure have turned a sanitation issue into a major public health and social development concern. When Delhi’s MCD staff visited Ward 42 in Rohini Zone on…
Toilet: Ek Prem Katha uses a simple love story to expose how lack of sanitation affects dignity, especially for women, turning a personal issue into a social conversation. It highlights that true love and progress begin when basic respect and dignity are no longer negotiable within the home. Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, released in 2017…
India’s WASH transformation through the Swachh Bharat Mission and Jal Jeevan Mission has significantly expanded sanitation and safe drinking water access, improving public health, gender equality, and rural livelihoods. The next phase focuses on sustaining these gains through resilient systems, community ownership, and climate-sensitive water management. Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) is not only a…
The Government of Maharashtra has launched the My Village, Healthy Village campaign with ₹80.75 crore funding to strengthen rural healthcare through sanitation, nutrition, and preventive care. The initiative promotes community participation and aims to transform villages into self-reliant, disease-free Healthy Villages. The Government of Maharashtra has launched a major public health initiative aimed at strengthening…
