World Toilet Day: Twitterati highlight achievements, to-do list

With people across the world observing World Toilet Day on Tuesday, Twitter users too posted comments on what all had been done on the issue of open defecation so far, whereas a few had a humorous take on the serious matter.

There were quite a few memes with pictures of toilets.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal posted on his Twitter handle @PiyushGoyal to remind people about the steps taken by the Railways on the issue. "A Paradigm shift in Railways: To ensure hygienic & sanitary conditions for passengers and cleaner tracks, Railways is installing eco-friendly bio-toilets in trains," he said.

"Last week, 802 Bio-toilets were fitted, raising the total number to 2,30,968 in 65,072 coaches," he added.

Another BJP leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani retweeted a Swachh Bharat tweet that said: "This #WorldToiletDay, let's ensure our collaborated efforts towards sustaining the momentum of the #SwachhBharatMission and ensure access to #safe #sanitation for all, and that no one is left behind."

Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, founder of the NGO Isha Foundation, posted on his Twitter handle @SadhguruJV: "As it is important to have access to food and water, it is equally important for a human being to have access to a clean toilet to bring health, well-being and to establish human dignity. This becomes a very important dimension."

A tweet by the World Toilet Org on its handle @WorldToilet reminded people that it was "working towards a world with a clean, safe toilet and sanitation for everyone, everywhere, at all times."

A post on the Indian government's citizen engagement handle @mygovindia read: "This #WorldToiletDay, let's celebrate #SwachhataRevolution! With the construction of over 10.73cr toilets, Swachh Bharat Mission has brought a Sanitation Revolution in the nation ensuring the dignity of women & eradicating open defecation." It was accompanied by hashtag TransformingIndia.

The UN Human Rights wrote on its Twitter handle @UNHumanRights: "Did you know that 673 million people in the world still practice open defecation? Everyone has a right to safe, clean and affordable sanitation. On #WorldToiletDay, learn about Oyungerel's campaign to improve lives by increasing toilet sanitation."

The Bharatiya Janata Party's official Twitter handle @BJP4India praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "building a New India of Mahatma Gandhi's dreams."

"On #WorldToiletDay, India is open-defecation free for the 1st time in history," it said.

It gave statistics on rural sanitation coverage in India, with figures of 39 per cent in 2014, 76 per cent in 2018 and 100 per cent in 2019.

A Twitter user had a witty twist on the issue. He wrote: "Today is #InternationalMensDay. Hey, also, #WorldToiletDay. Whatte!"IANS