Over 4 thousand households in Lahan municipality lack toilets

Siraha, Nov 19: Despite years of government and NGO-led efforts to improve health, sanitation, and awareness in Madhes Province, a recent survey has exposed a troubling reality—more than 4,000 households in Siraha’s Lahan Municipality still lack access to toilets.

According to the municipality’s latest assessment, 4,200 out of 24,700 households do not have toilet facilities, meaning 17 percent of residents continue to defecate in the open. The findings were shared by Mayor Mahesh Prasad Chaudhary during a press conference on Tuesday.

Lahan Municipality had been declared an open defecation-free area in 2017, making the new data even more concerning. Mayor Chaudhary said the continued lack of basic sanitation among Dalit, landless, poor, and disaster-vulnerable communities highlights deep-rooted challenges.

Preliminary analysis by the local government suggests that the absence of a fecal sludge management centre and limited access to clean water have contributed to the problem. Many previously built toilets have deteriorated due to poor maintenance or have become unusable. The municipality is also exploring suitable locations to build toilets for landless families, with the possibility of relocating squatter settlements to ensure sanitation access.

To address the crisis, Lahan Municipality plans to mobilize elected representatives, social workers, community groups, schools, and youth volunteers over the next three months to conduct door-to-door campaigns. “A toilet is not just for defecation—it represents health and dignity,” Mayor Chaudhary emphasized, stressing that sanitation initiatives succeed only with active community participation.

The revelation comes as the world observes World Toilet Day on November 19. Globally, 3.4 billion people still lack safely managed sanitation services, according to UN Water.