‘May need to switch over to different toilet models’

Education and high awareness among communities about the usage of toilets had made Udupi an open defecation-free district, said Udupi Zilla Panchayat Chief Planning Officer A Srinivas Rao.

He was speaking at a sanitation workshop organised by Udupi Zilla Panchayat at Poornaprajna Centre for Research and Development(PIM), Udupi.

Many gram panchayats had bagged national awards for achieving total sanitation. Yet the rural communities might face certain problems with the construction of toilets in future. They may have to switch over to different models of toilets, according to research initiated by Azim Premji University, Bengaluru and the Poornaprajna Centre for Research and Development (PIM) in Udupi, he added.

Dr A Narayana, head of the research team and associate professor, Azim Premji University highlighted the importance of the research.

Shyam Kashyap, research associate, Azim Premji University, presented the salient features of the research with facts and figures.