Sanitation

and
Hygiene
Supplementary Material for
the Upper Primary Stage

18148

ISBN No. 978-93-5007-857-0

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 Page 22 / Price `45.00
Code 18145
ISBN 978-93-5007-848-8

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 Sanitation
and
Hygiene
Supplementary Material for
the Upper Primary Stage

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 ISBN 978-93-5007-857-0
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
First Edition
 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
August 2017 Bhadrapada, 1939 retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise
without the prior permission of the publisher.
 This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by
way of trade, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise disposed
of without the publisher’s consent, in any form of binding or
PD 2T BS
cover other than that in which it is published.
 The correct price of this publication is the price printed on
© National Council of this page, Any revised price indicated by a rubber stamp or
by a sticker or by any other means is incorrect and should
Educational Research and be unacceptable.
Training, 2017
OFFICES OF THE PUBLICATION
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 Foreword

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) developed

supplementary reading materials on Sanitation and Hygiene for primary and
upper primary stages, based on the outline provided by the Ministry of Drinking
Water and Sanitation (MODWS). For primary stage, a supplementary material
in the story form titled, Simmi’s Journey Towards Cleanliness has already been
published.
The present material is for upper primary stage. The objective of this
material is to build awareness in children about practices related to hygiene and
sanitation and help them imbibe these practices in their daily life. It focuses on
the importance of sanitation and hygiene, improper sanitation including open
defecation and their impact on health. The book also discusses various types
of wastes and important sanitation schemes including Swacch Bharat Mission.
Children can read this book independently and develop healthy hygienic and
sanitation practices.
The material was developed with the help of practicing teachers and
teacher-educators. I appreciate the efforts made by Saroj Yadav, Dean (Academic),
Professor and other team members in developing this material. It is hoped that
children and teachers will find the material useful. Comments and suggestions
are solicited for bringing out improvement in the material.

New Delhi Hrushikesh Senapaty

July 2017 Director, NCERT

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 Preface

The supplementary material Sanitation and Hygiene has been developed

for students in upper primary stage (Classes VI–VIII) with the objective to
encourage them to understand the importance of hygiene. The material will
help students inculcate hygiene practices in their daily life. Such practices will
go a long way in protecting themselves from infections and infectitious diseases.
It is envisaged that after going through this material children will acquire
knowledge, attitude, skills of good hygiene behaviour and healthy living and
appreciation for the importance of drinking safe water, good hygiene practices
and use of safe sanitation facilities. This material will also help them realise
that every member of the family has a responsibility to maintain hygiene and
sanitation. It is hoped that the material will motivate students to undertake
individual and collective actions by proper disposal of human and animal
wastes, proper use of toilet and avoid open space defecation.
I thank the members of the Development Team for their valuable
contribution in our endeavour to provide good quality material for school
system. I also thank the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Government
of India for their support. I especially thank H.K. Senapaty, Director, Professor
NCERT for his administrative support and keen interest in the development of
the material.
We look forward to feedbacks from students, teachers and parents for
further improvement of this material.

Saroj Yadav
Professor and Dean (Academic)
NCERT

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 Development Team

Members
Anjni Koul, Professor, Department of Education in Science and Mathematics,
NCERT, New Delhi.
C.V. Shimray, Associate Professor, Department of Education in Science and
Mathematics, NCERT, New Delhi.
R. Joshi, Associate Professor (Retired), Department of Education in Science and
Mathematics, NCERT, New Delhi.
Shivani Goswami, PGT Biology (Retired), Mother’s International School, New
Delhi.

Member Coordinator
Saroj Yadav, Professor and Dean (Academic), NCERT, New Delhi.

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 Acknowledgments

National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is grateful to

the members of Development Team for their contribution in the development
of this book.
Special thanks are due to Dinesh Kumar, Professor and Head, DESM for
providing administrative and academic support.
We are thankful to the Ministry of Human Resource Development,
Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and UNICEF for initiating the idea
and assigning the task to NCERT.
The council also gratefully acknowledges the support provided by
administrative staff of Dean Academic, Rani Sharma, PA (Dean), Nitin Kumar
Gupta, DTP Operator, Fajruddin, Illustrator and Kamal Kishore, Layout Designer
and Ilma Nasir, Editorial Assistant (Contractual). Thanks are due to Azara,
Junior Research Fellow for reading the material and for her valuable suggestion.
The efforts of the Publication Division, NCERT in bringing out this material
are also appreciated.

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 Contents

Foreword iii
Introduction 1
1. Sanitation and Hygiene 3
1.1 Sanitation 3
1.2 Hygiene 4
1.3 Meaning of wash 5
2. How Improper Sanitation and Poor Hygiene Practices Affect Us? 8
2.1 Scenarios of open defecation and their impact 10
2.2 What are germs? 14
3. Open Defecation 16
3.1 What is open defecation? 16
3.2 Why should I stop open defecation? 16
3.3 Why do some people defecate in the open? 16
4. What is Open Defecation Free? 18
4.1 Defecation by pets and stray animals 19
5. Improved Sanitation 20
6. The F diagram 21
6.1 What are barriers? 23
7. Types of Waste 24
8. Important Sanitation Schemes in India 25
8.1 Swachh Bharat Mission 26
Exercises 28

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 Introduction
Sanitation and hygiene are two major factors that affect our health. We know
that health is a state of well being and is essential for a purposeful existence.
Good health is not only freedom from sickness and diseases but a complete
absence of anxiety, social and psychological tensions. If there is any deviation in
harmonic functioning of our body, our health gets affected and we may get sick.
The factors that may affect our health are:
1. Nutrition
2. Sanitation and hygiene
3. Genetic disorders or defects
4. Social and psychological factors
In this material the focus will be on sanitation and hygiene. Let us begin
exploring how clean our surroundings are, by completing Activity 1. In this
activity if you get all your answers Yes, we can say that your locality have
achieved a good level of sanitation and hygiene. Even if you get any one of your
answers as No, it means that your surrounding needs attention individually, by
the community and by the government/public agencies.

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 Activity 1

Tick (ü) Yes or (û) No for the following statements:

Yes No
1. Waste is not dumped in and around your:
• Home
• School
2. Solid waste is segregated and collected from:
• Home
• School
3. Tap water is available in your:
• Home
• School
4. The source of drinking water is a handpump/open well/pond/lake or river:
• Home
• School
5. Toilet facility is available at your:
• Home
• School
6. People in your neighbourhood do not defecate in open. Faeces
and urine of human and animals (including cattle, pets and stray
animals) are not seen in your neighbourhood.
7. There is a proper drainage system for safe disposal of liquid
wastes in your neighbourhood.
8. The waste water from households in your neighbourhood
does not get spread over in open areas.
9. You wash hands with soap before and after taking meals/after
using toilet facility.
10. You take bath regularly and wear clean clothes.

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 Sanitation and Hygiene
Maintaining proper sanitation and good
hygiene practices are necessary for
Toilet
healthy living.
1.1 Sanitation
Sanitation means all measures that
promote:
• proper disposal of human and
animal wastes (solid as well as
If you don’t
liquid wastes). It also includes have one, ask
disposal of hazardous wastes from for it.
hospitals/industries/other sources.
• use and proper maintenance of
toilets.
• avoiding of open defecation.

A Case Study from Assam

Safe and clean water and
sanitation facilities are a basic
right of all people, including
people with disabilities. Jimoni
Nath, a 12 years old is a resident
of Bamunijhar village in Sipajhar
in Assam. She has been confined
to a wheelchair due to a physical
disability. A faculty member
of Shishu Sarothi, a centre for
rehabilitation and training for multiple disabilities decided to help
Jimoni and others like her. A team of Shishu Sarothi tried to innovate
and create user friendly toilets for people with such disabilities.
Besides, they also took the responsibility of training as how to use
such toilets. They used bamboo, a commonly available material, for
constructing the toilets. This made not only Jimoni’s life easier but
also for others like her.

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 Maintaining proper standards of sanitation are necessary for improving
and protecting health and wellbeing of the people.
Sanitation includes steps to ensure access and use of toilets by everyone.
It also includes ways to separate human excreta from coming in contact
with other individuals. One of the important factors to maintain proper
sanitation is to end the practice of ‘open defecation’. This may be done by
involving individuals and community members to build, maintain and use
toilets. Therefore, sanitation is often associated with our surroundings or
environment.
1.2 Hygiene
Hygiene is a set of practices performed for the preservation of health.
Hygiene is often associated with our body. According to the World Health
Organisation (WHO), “Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that
help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases.”
One of the most effective ways to protect ourselves and others from
diseases is to adopt good practices of personal hygiene. These may include:
• taking bath at least once a day.
• washing hands
¾¾ after using the toilet.
¾¾ before preparing food or serving food.
¾¾ before and after eating food.
¾¾ if someone around you is infected with cold or any other infectious
disease.
¾¾ after handling pets and domestic animals.
• brushing teeth in the morning and before going to bed.
• rinsing mouth after every meal.
• wearing clean clothes.
We will now try to find out
how improper hygiene can affect
our health negatively. Have you
come across a person with a
strong unpleasant body smell. You
must have experienced this in a
crowded places such as bus, train,
etc. You may have also felt that
your body is smelly sometime.

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 Steps of Proper Hand Washing

Wet hands Apply enough Rub hands Palm to palm

with water. soap to cover all palm to palm. with fingers
hand surfaces. interlaced.

Rinse hands Dry thoroughly with Use towel to ...and your

with water. a single use towel. turn off faucet. hands are safe.

When we do not take regular bath our body smells because of sweat.
This is particularly true in summer. The foul smell is due to the action of
bacteria on sweat.
Similarly, washing hands is essential to remove harmful germs, if
any, sticking to our hands. These germs may stick to our body during
our day to day activities. These germs are so small that we cannot see
them. Regular washing of hands helps to remove these germs, some of
which could be a source of disease such as common cold and diarrhoea.
Wearing washed and clean clothes also protects us from harmful germs.
When we eat, some tiny food particles remain trapped in the mouth
in between the teeth. The action of bacteria on them may give rise to
bad breath. Bad breath may also be due to diseases of the teeth, gums
and mouth. Regular brushing of teeth and rinsing of mouth removes the
food particles to a large extent. If bad breath continues, one must visit the
dentist.
1.3 Meaning of WASH
So far we have learnt about the importance of sanitation and hygiene. Did
you realise that without water we cannot maintain sanitation and hygiene?
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene are collectively termed as WASH (Wa —
Water; S — Sanitation; H — Hygiene). Since water, sanitation and hygiene

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 Activity 2
The following pictures depict some practices that we commonly observe.
Try to group them as good practices and bad practices. Tick () for good
practices and cross () for bed practices.

Brushing teeth Washing hands with soap Trimming nails

Throwing trash from moving vehicles Spitting on road

Disposing garbage in dustbin Washing clothes Rinsing mouth

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 are interdependent, these are grouped together as WASH. Remember
each one of them is dependent on the presence of the other.
For example, proper sanitation cannot be maintained in toilets without
water. Similarly, water is essential for personal hygiene such as, washing
hands, taking bath, etc. If there are no toilets, people are compelled to
defecate in the open. This practice of defecation in the open may affect
health in many ways. The faecal matter and the germs it contains get
washed away when it rains. This may get carried to nearby water sources
such as ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, etc., and contaminate water. In many
cases, the toilets are not constructed as per desired norms. In such cases,
it may so happen that these toilets directly discharge into water bodies.
Open defecation may also be a cause of water contamination.

Do you know?
According to a report of the United Nations International Children’s
Emergency Fund (UNICEF) published in 2016, it is estimated that
about 5.2 lakh children under 5 years of age die annually from
diarrhoeal disease, that means, 1400 every day. Of these most are in
developing countries.

WA WATER Barriers can stop the transmission of

disease; these can be primary (preventing
the initial contact with the faeces) or
S SANITATION secondary (preventing it being ingested by
a new person). They can be controlled by
H HYGIENE water, sanitation and hygiene interventions.

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 How Improper Sanitation and
Poor Hygiene Practices Affect Us?
We have discussed the meaning of sanitation and
hygienic practices. We have also discussed about some
of the practices essential for maintaining sanitation and
hygiene. If we do not adopt proper hygiene practices
and maintain sanitation in our surroundings, we may
contact some disease and fall sick. There are several
ways by which we can be affected. Human faeces as
well as faeces of other animals could be a source of
many diseases such as, cholera, typhoid, infectious
hepatitis, polio, etc.

Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM)

Menstrual hygiene is an issue associated with women and adolescent
girls. Lack of correct information makes people across the society
uncomfortable to talk about the subject. Good menstrual hygiene
is crucial for the health and dignity of girls and women. Everyone
in the society including the male members must understand that
this is a natural process and not a matter of shame. It is therefore,
necessary that the subject be discussed
without any taboos. Adolescent girls
particularly need support and guidance
at the initiation of menstruation. It is
essential that at this time, schools and
family provide them a safe environment
that offers protection and guidance
to ensure their basic health and well-
being. Knowledge about handling of
sanitary napkins/homemade pads and
their proper disposal is essential for
maintenance of hygiene.

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 Washing clothes/
utensils/cattle near
open well/ponds
lakes contaminates
the water source.

Plenty of waste
and faecal matter Spread of infectious
allows growth of Poor diseases like diarrhoea,
flies, mosquitoes, sanitation typhoid, cholera, polio,
cockroaches, conditions. hepatitis, etc.
rodents, etc.

People practicing
open defecation
may release harmful
germs in the
surrounding.

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 2.1 Scenarios of open defecation and their impact
Let us consider a few scenarios that may give us an idea how open
defecation can affect our health.

Scene I
A person infected with diarrhoea defecates in the open in a
grass field. Later in the day a house maker goes to the same
field to collect green fodder for her cattle. Unknown to her, the
infected faecal matter may come in contact to her clothes and
body parts. The harmful germs get transferred to her dress and
body. On returning home, her children hugs her and ask for
food. She may serves food to her children and other members
of the family without properly washing her hands. In the process
harmful germs may enter the body of the children and family
members and make them sick.

Scene II
A group of children are playing game in a nearby ground. They
may be playing a game of cricket/hockey/volleyball/football
or a traditional game like seven times (pithu)
or with glass marbles. During the play, the
material used in the game, say the ball or the
glass marble goes out of the play area and
rolls over the faecal matter of a person who
have defecated in open. The harmful germs
get stuck to the ball or the marble. The harmful
germs then get transferred to those children
playing the game and make them sick.

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 Scene III
The shoe lace of a child going to school or any person walking
on a road gets loose. The string of the lace comes in contact with
faecal matter or urine of an infected person who have defecated
on the roadside. The harmful germs get transferred to the hands
of the child or the person when she/he ties the lace. The harmful
germs may enter the body of the child or the person if she/he
does not wash her/his hands immediately.

Scene IV
A person infected with diarrhoea
uses a public toilet. She/he
opens the door by holding the
door handle and/or unlatching
the bolt with unwashed hands.
In the process, she/he transfers
harmful germs to the latch/
door handle. The next person
using the toilet locks the door by
holding the handle/latch when it is
still wet. Harmful germs may get
transferred to her/his hands and
make him/her sick.

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 Scene V
A large number of persons including
some infected with diarrhoea defecate
in the open close to a vegetable
field near a pond or an open well.
The rain water or the water used for
irrigating the crop spread the faecal
matter to the vegetable crop and also
contaminate the water of the pond/
well. The people harvesting the crop
or using water from the pond/well
may get infected with harmful germs
and get sick.
Project
Visit to a Garbage Dumping Site
Visit with your friends a garbage dumping site in your neighbourhood. Make a list
of your group’s observations based on the following:
(a) Did you see flies, birds or any other animals thriving on the garbage? Make
a list of them.
(b) What types of wastes are thrown in the garbage dump?
(c) Were the wastes contained within the boundary of the dumping site or
scattered all around it?
(d) Was the visit to the site uncomfortable? Make at least two observations.
You may add your own observations other than those mentioned above. Prepare
a brief report about your visit and suggest ways to improve the sanitary conditions.

There are many more ways in which Ouchh!!

we may get infected with disease Mind your step.
causing germs due to the practice of
open defecation. In addition to this,
we may also get infected with disease
causing germs by coming in contact
with domesticated animal dung, faecal
matter of pets or stray animals, rodents
and birds.
It is, therefore, essential that we wash our hands as frequently as possible
to avoid entry of harmful germs to our body from different sources.

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 Activity 3
Think of a scene about how open defecation can affect our health. Write
down the scene.
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

Malnutrition and Stunting

A poor and nutrition deficient diet
or certain digestive conditions do
not allow the body to get enough
nutrition. The digestive conditions
may be due to poor sanitation. If the
conditions like improper nutrition or
digestive conditions continue over a
long period malnutrition may occur.
Stunted growth, also known as
stunting and nutritional stunting, Doctor checking for malnutrition
is a reduced growth rate in human
development. It is a primary manifestation of malnutrition and recurrent
infections, such as diarrhoea.
Every year in India, 26 million children are born into families that
practice open defecation. Close to 0.7 million children die within 28
days of birth. Lack of safe sanitation and poor hygiene causes frequent
diseases which often lead to malnutrition and stunted growth.

Adequate sanitation and the practice of good hygiene, for example,

washing hands frequently with soap particularly before taking food and after
defecating and using toilet by everyone, can be a major preventive measure
of malnutrition and stunting.
In conclusion, safe sanitation prevents diseases by:
• isolating the user from their own and other people’s faeces.

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 • preventing the carriers of disease causing germs (e.g., flies, mosquitoes,
cockroaches) from contacting the faeces and subsequently transmitting
diseases to humans.
• preventing the faeces from contaminating our surroundings.
It is important to understand that sanitation can act at different levels,
protecting the individual, the household, and the community from germs and
infection.
2.2 What are Germs?
Sometimes when any food falls on
ground, elders usually advise us not to
eat it as germs may be present on it.
This is because germs are found in air,
water, soil, food, plants, animals, and
on any surface including our body. But
we cannot see these germs without
the help of a magnifying device.
During rainy season you might have
noticed that bread gets spoilt easily.
Its surface gets covered with grayish
white patches. If you observe these patches through a magnifying glass,
you may observe tiny, blackish, grayish rounded structures. These are
fungi.
Similarly, tiny organisms can be seen in water as well. For example,
take a few drops of water from a pond or a well and spread it on a
glass slide and observe under a microscope. You may find tiny organisms
moving in the water. Obviously, these organisms are so small in size
that they cannot be seen without a microscope. The germs present in
food, the fungus on bread and the tiny organisms in water are known as
micro-ogranisms or microbes. Some of these microbes may cause disease
and are called germs. Usually most of the germs do not harm us because
our immune system protects us against them. But the same germs can
cause disease if our immune system is weak.
There are also some microbes that are beneficial in many ways. Some
of them help in setting of curd and baking of bread and cake. Do you
know that a large number of microbes reside in our body? Some of these
help in the digestion of the food we eat.

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 How germs spread?
Germs can spread in several ways. Some common ways are:
• Nose, mouth or eyes to hands and then to others.
• Food to hands. • Hands to food.
• Animals to people. • People to animals.
• Infected child to hands to others.
• Through air, water and disease carriers.

Direct contact

By air
Indirect
contact

Healthy
By food person

Mosquito/
insect
Infected person

Rabid animal

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 Open Defecation
3.1 What is open defecation?
Open defecation is the practice of Do you know?
defecating outside in the open rather Even a drop is dangerous.
than using a toilet. The germs in the One gram of faeces may contain 
faeces and urine often find their way 10,000,000 viruses, 1,000,000
into sources of water and food which bacteria, 1,000 parasites cysts
and 100 parasite eggs.
may lead to disease.
3.2 Why should I stop open
defecation? More to know
Open defecation causes public health
problems in areas where people Problem of Open defecation
defecate in fields, along railway lines, in the World and in India
open spaces near dwelling places, About one billion people or 15
near ponds and rivers. per cent of the global population
Some of the health problems that follows the practice of open
may arise due to open defecation defecation (WHO/UNICEF
have been discussed earlier. report 2014).
3.3 Why do some people India has the highest number
defecate in the open? of people practicing open
There are many reasons why some defecation, around 500 million.
people defecate in the open. The Out of these, about 52 per cent
reasons may include one or more of them reside in rural areas
of the following: while 7.5 per cent is estimated
• Some household do not have to be in urban areas.
toilets and cannot afford to A study by Water Aid
build one. estimated as many as 157 million
• In some cases toilet is available Indian or 41 per cent of Indians
but is of low quality and are not living in urban areas, live without
well maintained. adequate sanitation.
(Source: Swachhata Status Report 2016
• People prefer not to use toilets
Ministry of Statistics and Programme
to delay the toilet pit filling up, Implementation, Government of India
in the case of a pit latrine. 2016, p69–70.)

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 • Toilets are not available at the workplace or public places, e.g., during
farming activities.
• Some people are ignorant about the benefits of using toilets.
• Cultural or habitual preference for defecation in the open.
• Sometimes the toilet buildings are encroached upon and are used for
some other purpose.
In view of the above it is imperative that concerted efforts be made
to bring about behavioural change among large section of people who
are defecating in the open and not using toilets. This can be achieved if
children from very beginning are trained in proper use of toilets.

You
too!!

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 What is Open Defecation Free?
The Government of India has defined, Open Defecation Free (ODF), as the
termination of faecal-oral transmission, defined by no visible faeces found in
the environment or surroundings and every household and public/ community
institutions are using safe technology options for disposal of faeces.
This will be possible only when no one defecates in the open.
This definition is part of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India Campaign).
The fundamental idea is that no one should defecate in the open, and always
use toilets.

How to Dispose Faeces from Used

Diapers and Nappies?
Now-a-days diapers are being used for babies, for sick patients and
also for aged people. In many households homemade nappies are
used for infants. In either case, it is important to get rid of faeces
from the diaper/nappies by dropping it in the toilet. This will reduce
foul odors and spread of germs. One can use the sticky tape sections
of the diaper to wrap it up properly in a used paper before throwing
it in a garbage bin. One should never throw used diapers in an open
area because these are harmful for environment. After handling a
used diaper/nappies wash hands with soap. Proper sanitation habits
are very important.

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 4.1Defecation by pets and stray animals
All animals other than human beings defecate in the open. However,
some of them like pets and domesticated animals being closer to human
population can be a source of disease causing germs. You may have seen
people taking their pets such as dogs to defecate in the open. This is
quite a common practice in urban areas. You might have also come across
faeces of stray animals in the neighbourhood, in the streets or in the open
fields. These faeces from animals can also carry disease causing germs.
The germs can spread to humans just as human faeces transmit diseases.
One of the essential conditions to make India open defecation free is to
provide improved sanitation facilities including toilets.

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 Improved Sanitation
An improved sanitation facility is the one that hygienically separates human
faeces and urine from human contact. Usually this include:
(a) A flush toilet connected to a piped sewer system.
(b) A flush/pour-flush toilet connected to a septic tank or pit latrine.
(c) A composting toilet — a dry toilet that treats human excreta, by
composting or managed aerobic decomposition. These toilets generally
use little or no water and may be used as an alternative to flush toilets.

SANITATION AND HYGIENE.indd 20 8/24/2017 4:28:47 PM

 The F Diagram
The F diagram depicts how germs spread and how that can be prevented.
The letter ‘F’ in F diagram refers to fluids, fingers, flies, and fields; the modes
through which the diseases from faecal matter can spread.
(a) Through fluids mainly water: Germs from faeces on the ground can get
into the water (fluids) that may be used for drinking.

fluids Treat, transport and

store the water safely

W
Protect the
water source W Wash hands
Wash before eating
Separate faeces hands after
S or preparing
from water sources defecation fingers food
H H Store and
cook food
food carefully

H
Cover
faeces flies food faces
H
S
S
Separate Control Wash hands
faeces flies H before eating or H Wash hands
from the preparing food
environment
fields Peel and wash
food

floods
S
Drainage
Primary barrier Secondary barrier

Common modes of transmission of disease causing germs

SANITATION AND HYGIENE.indd 21 8/24/2017 4:28:50 PM

 (b) Through fingers: Through fingers, or hands that haven’t been washed
after going to the toilet. These dirty hands can transmit the germs on
the foods to be eaten.
(c) Through flies: Flies can transfer germs from faeces to food. So it’s
important to keep flies and other insects out of the kitchen or where
food is kept.
(d) Through fields or floors: Germs can seep into the crops and other
sources of food, or come into homes through animals or poultry, if
faeces are not disposed of properly. To prevent field contamination, it’s
important that faeces are disposed in the toilets.

Activity 4
Let us test our knowledge about types of barriers. Tick (ü) the correct
type of barrier in the following situations:
Primary Secondary
Not letting flies come in contact with the
1.
faecal matter.
2. Not letting flies sit on the food.
Keeping water bodies clean by not letting
3.
it come in contact with faecal matter.
4. Washing hands after defecation.
5. Washing hands before eating.
6. Washing fruits before eating.
7. Washing vegetables before making salad.
8. Controlling the cockroach population.
9. Covering the food properly.
10. Using toilet properly.

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 6.1 What are barriers?
We have seen that diseases can get spread from the faecal matter through
different sources classified as the Fs. Therefore, in order to prevent such
spread of diseases, we need to create some efforts or interventions to check
the spread of diseases through all the Fs. These are called barriers. Based on
where we create the barriers, they are grouped into two types:
(i) Primary barriers (PB): We can create barriers between unclean
fluids, fingers, flies and fields by eliminating open defecation.
(ii) Secondary barriers (SB): We can create barriers between
unclean fluids, fingers, flies and the food we eat, by maintaining
hygiene and keeping our surroundings, our hands and our foods
clean and safe.
We therefore need to ensure that effective barriers exist in our activities
and surroundings that can prevent the transmission of germs from faeces
to human.

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 Types of Waste
Faecal matter is not the only waste
that can affect our health. In fact,
waste is any material, solid or
fluid/liquid that is thrown away as
unwanted material.
As per physical properties, waste
can be categorised as solid and liquid
wastes. Non- Biodegradable
Biodegradable
(a) Solid waste
Any waste other than human
faeces, urine and waste water, is
called solid waste. Solid waste generally includes—household waste,
garden waste, cattle dung and waste from cattle sheds, agro waste,
broken glass, scrap metal, waste paper, plastics, cloth, rubber, waste
from markets and shopping areas, hotels, hospitals, etc.
Some of the above wastes which are products of plants and animals are
called biodegradable while the products from non-living are categorised
as non-biodegradable.
• Biodegradable: Waste that are completely decomposed by
biological processes either in presence or in absence of air are called
biodegradable, e.g., kitchen waste, animal dung, agricultural waste, etc.
• Non-biodegradable: Waste which cannot be decomposed by
biological processes is called non-biodegradable waste e.g., broken
glass, plastics, etc.
(b) Liquid waste
Used and unwanted water is called waste water. Waste water is of two
types:
• Black Water: Waste water generated in the toilets is called black water.
It contains harmful germs.
• Greywater: Waste water generated in the kitchen, bathroom and laundry
is called greywater. It may also contain harmful germs. Greywater can
be reused for gardening and toilets after simple treatment.

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 Important Sanitation Schemes
In India
The period 1981–1990 was celebrated worldwide as the International Decade
of Water and Sanitation. It reflected global concern about sanitation.
In India, sanitation services in urban areas are provided by municipal
bodies. In rural areas these services are provided through state government
departments and gram panchayats. In rural areas, the Government of India
started the Central Rural Sanitation Programme (CRSP) in 1986, followed by
the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) in 1999, and the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan
in 2012. The objective of all these schemes was to encourage rural households
to build and use toilets, so to accelerate sanitation coverage. Households were
provided financial incentives for this.

Advanced Greywater Treatment

Planter Bed

Greywater sources

To groundwater

Overflow
Sand-filter Septic tank
Pump-pit

According to the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS),

Government of India’s Baseline Survey 2013, the above efforts resulted in

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 India’s sanitation coverage in rural areas to reach close to 40 per cent. This
progress however was not satisfactory as most of the efforts focused more
on construction of toilets and not enough on ensuring their use. The Swachh
Bharat Mission launched by the Government is an effort to address this issue.
8.1 Swachh Bharat Mission
On 2nd October 2014,
the Prime Minister, Shri
Narendra Modi, launched
the Swachh Bharat Mission
(SBM). The Mission is being
LoPN Hkkjr
implemented both in urban
and rural areas, and aims to
create an Open Defecation Ek Kadam Swachhata Ki Aur
Free India by 2nd October
2019, which is the 150th birth
anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi,
the Father of the Nation. It also
aims at creating cleaner cities,
towns and villages across the
country.
The Swachh Bharat Mission
logo consists of Gandhiji’s
spectacles and the slogan, Ek
Kadam Swachhata Ki Aur. The
Swachh Bharat Mission aims to
provide toilet facilities to all,
and promote their use at all
times. Under the programme,
the government provides
incentives to households to
build and use toilets.
Cleanliness of homes and
surroundings and public places
like schools, hospitals, offices,
bus stands, railway stations and markets, etc., are also important components
of the Mission. Good hygiene practices like hand washing after defecation

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 and before meals are being promoted.
Hand washing facilities in schools are
being set up so that children can wash
their hands before and after having
their mid day meal.
The Swachh Bharat Mission has
created a lot of excitement and
enthusiasm among citizens. Students
in particular have come forward and
are participating in awareness and
cleanliness activities across the country.
Government departments, public and
private enterprises, civil society, youth
organisations and the general public
are participating in the activities. Various events are being held in which
mass participation in cleanliness activities and its promotion is seen. Many
celebrities have also supported and participated in the programme.

Keep your surroundings

clean clean, practice good
city Open
Defecation
Free India
sanitation and hygiene
clean
y
Health india
India SwaCch Green
Use
Toilets
Bharat india

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 Gandhiji was a devoted campaigner for cleanliness and
sanitation. He made cleanliness and sanitation an integral
part of the way of living. His dream was total sanitation
for all. According to him, cleanliness was most important
for physical well-being and healthy environment.
To read more about Gandhiji’s efforts on sanitation
you may read the book Bahuroope Gandhi written by
Anu Bandopadhyaya in 1964. Read the book online by
following this link: mkgandhi.org/bahurupi/bahurupi.htm

EXERCISES
Answer the following questions:
1.
Why is sanitation so important for us? Mention any two reasons.
2.
What are the common sources of germs? Name any two.
3.
List any three ways by which germs may spread.
4.
Give two examples each of biodegradable and non biodegradable wastes.
5.
No one should defecate in open. Justify the statement.
6.
People usually let their pet dog to defecate in open. Suggest a way to
prevent them from littering public places.
8. How has the surrounding of your home and school changed after the
launch of Swachh Bharat Mission?
9. If you have participated in an event on Swachh Bharat Mission write your
personal experience.
10. What do you understand by open defecation free?
Extended Activities
I. Every citizen of the country needs to contribute towards the success
of Swachh Bharat Mission. Discuss with your friends what steps need be
taken to ensure that:
• everyone uses toilets all the time, and
• wastes are disposed off in such a manner that it enhances cleanliness.

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 II. Solve the crossword.
Across
1. Undigested and unabsorbed solid waste excreted.
2. Practice of keeping oneself clean.
3. Waste water generated in the toilets.
4. Waste that completely gets decomposed by biological processes.
Down
1. Proper disposal of human and animal wastes.
2. The collective term for water, sanitation and hygiene.
3. Can be transmitted to others by coughing or sneezing.
4. A common digestive disorder associated with unhygienic conditions.
1 2
A S
5
B W
3 6
H G E
4
W
T
S

8
D
7
B E E
N

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 III. Several terms related to Swachh Bharat Mission are hidden in the figure.
Spot at least five. One example is shown for you.

W C L E A N T W B P Z

O A B C I D K M L N B

D G K A T E W T A G M

K E T N O F A E C E S

I H Y G I E N E K R A

L A D O L C E S W M N

I N U D E A W D A B I

C D N B T T O U T A T

N W G T L I E S E I A

W A T E R O S T R E T

E S R N Y A F I D P O

I H R N Y A F I D P O

R E C Y C L E N R T N

IV. Try to do!

1. Depict Swacch Bharat Mission as you perceive in the form of cartoon/
drawing.
2. Write a slogan on Swacch Bharat Mission.

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 Page 22 / Price `45.00
Code 18145
ISBN 978-93-5007-848-8

Cover 2 and 3.indd All Pages 8/24/2017 4:53:11 PM

 Sanitation
and
Hygiene
Supplementary Material for
the Upper Primary Stage

18148

ISBN No. 978-93-5007-857-0

Cover 1 and 4.indd All Pages 8/24/2017 4:51:58 PM