Sanitational problems:-

The basic element of quality of life essentially includes safe drinking water, food security, self-shelter & sanitation. The most unfortunate fact is that about 80 percent of our populations do not have access to portable drinking water.

It is an accepted fact that 60-80 percent of all illnesses is caused due to un healthy sanitary conditions and unsafe water supply. Sanitation as a problem has not been taken seriously by the people particularly in the developing countries including India. The provision of safe drinking water, facilities for the human excreta disposal cleanliness of the surroundings & public places etc. are priorities for a healthy society. But unfortunately neither govt. Nor the people have tackled it seriously. Through a fair amount of progress has been achieved in certain cases like safe-drinking water, waste management in urban areas, an overall health benefit has not been acquired by all the sections of the people.

Waste disposal:-

Progress in extending sanitary facilities in both rural as well as urban area is not satisfactory and extremely slow particularly in rural area in most of the villages, elementary sanitary services are non-existent. For a majority of the rural population defecation in the fields is the only from of sanitation. In 1996, it was estimated that less than five percent of the rural pop has access to sanitary facilities. The study sponsored by UNICEF observed sanitation & health link to be very weak in India especially in rural India (UNICEF 1991).

Facilities for drainage of waste water and solid waste management are also inadequate in urban and semi-urban areas. Even through the spitea tank was introduced in India about 200 years ago and sewerage some 50 years later, relatively few households even in the urban areas have been benefited from these systems of nearly 4,000 town and cities, only a couple of hundred have sewerage and that too partially. Very few towns have sewage treatment plants. Most of these plants are badly maintained and are often out of operation even it can be said that at present less than half the urban pops have a sanitary excreta disposal system.

Certain solid wastes like biomedical waste that includes pathological infectious waste, hazardous waste and other wastes generated in health care centers and medical laboratories require special attention. The ministry of environment and forest, Govt. of India recommends that bio medical waste be segregated and packed in leak-proof, color-coated plastic bags to facilitate identification, handling, storage, transportation and decontamination.

Population growth, increasing urbanization, industrialization and rising standards of living have contributed to an increase in the amount of various wastes generated in most-countries. It is a great challenge for many countries to fax in dealing with these problems of dangerous waste materials.

Safe drinking water:-

Lack of safe drinking water is one of the greatest health hazards faced by the people today. Although majority of the population from urban areas have community water supply facilities, health benefits have not been commensurate with the investment made. The main reason is that the desired standards of the water quality have not been adequately maintained, & this is lack of water quality surveillance.

India has one of the highest coverage figures for rural water supply in Southeast Asia. However, because of its huge population, globally 13 percent of the total UN served population of the world in India. According to the projected figures of the ministry of rural development (1996), almost 95 percent of the rural population will be fully or partly covered by community water supply. The maximum distance that people need to travel for water has now been reduced from 1.6 km to 1 km in the plains and 50 meters in the hilly terrains. However, the statistics and figures of population coverage are often misdealing. Because many of the tube wells, and hands pumps constructed under govt. programmes often breakdown and 90 out of operation for a long period.

Consequently, people have to obtain waste water from the unsafe water bodies.

The urban water supply system that is managed by the municipal bodies is the major sources of water for urban people. However, the population living in slums and some of the poover sections do not have adequate access to water supply. The major problem of the urban water supply system is lack of water quality monitoring or surveillance. The public participation is also very imp for the maintence of water for carrying system, as these are of often a potent instrument for carrying pathogenic microorganisms.

Improving the quality of drinking water, ensuring proper sewage disposal and providing more water for both personal and domestic purposes are the keys to the prevention and control of major infectious diseases. Estimation in 1995 indicates that 50 percent of the populations of developing world do not have access to safe water and 66 percent lack adequate sanitation (Santra, 2001). Although around 80 percent of the region’s population has access to safe water, but the rapid decreases in the underground water supply with the lowering of water labels would pose severe problems in the near future (UNICEF, 1998).