Even though Bharatpur in Gaushala-10, Mahottari, was declared an open defecation free zone four years ago, open defecation is still being practiced in the area.

Latrines that have been constructed are being unused in Bharatpur area for a long time. To encourage the use of toilets, the then Bharatpur VDC had provided construction materials to 70 households in Musahari Tol to construct toilets. But, according to the concerned authorities, people still prefer to defecate by the roadside, sugarcane fields, mango gardens and in rivers instead of using their toilets.  

Villagers, however, say they have not used their toilets after the thatched roofs of several toilets blown away during winds. Lalwati Devi Sada, a local woman, said that her family has not used a toilet for the last two years after a rainstorm blew away the roof of their toilet. “My husband works as a daily wage worker in India. We have to struggle to maintain two square meals a day. How can we reconstruct toilet?” she asked.

According to the villagers, they go through much trouble to defecate in the open. “We have to face difficulty while defecating outside during monsoon. There’s threat of snakebite in this season,” said another Saguni Sada, a local woman. “We have a hope that the municipality will help us to make a permanent structure of toilet, as our earnings are only sufficient for survival.”

Local Santosh Yadav said that the latrines have been constructed in houses, but people do not use them. “The defecation-related policy of the municipality has not been implemented here,” said Yadav, adding that local unit should be responsible to implement the ODF status.

Meanwhile, Shesh Jalil, ward chairman of Gaushala-10, said that the ward office will allocate budget in the coming fiscal year to build permanent structure of toilets in Musahari Tol. Jalil said, “We are making a plan after the area due to the problems of open defecation. We have also started to raise awareness and mobilise communities to create open defecation-free villages.”

So far, a total of 63 districts have been declared open defecation-free zones since the government launched the campaign 15 years ago.