GP Block, Pitampura

Community CompositionMostly comprised of Hindus, and most men are cycle rickshaw drivers or workers on construction sites. Women work as maids. There is an odd Christian family or two.

General Description: This is a settlement that is based in the middle of a slightly posh residential area within Pitampura, Delhi. The settlement comprises of some 1500 - 2000 registered houses (and several unregistered) with about 10,000 - 15,000 individuals living in these densely packed homes. The houses are constructed on 10 mtr squares and often have a second room on the top that is accessible by a simple ladder.

The streets are narrow and lined with open sewage. There is ’24 hours’ water supply that they get from a trickle from a tap that is at the same level and in proximity to the sewage canals. There are no community mandals or samitis here. We met with the Pradhan of this area, who along with another influential person, seems to be taking calls and meeting with people at the MCD. There isnt any formally organized mandal.

The residents are unaware of any NGO’s working in the area, but on further probing we found that there are NGO’s working at the school that is in the same block (access from the main road) where many of the children from the slum go. Also, there are many commercial shops, ‘Halwais’ in the slum who has been blamed for much of the troubles with cleanliness that the slum is facing. We also came across a paramedic who practices in this area as a doctor.

Sanitation Situation:

There are 3 sanitation facilities at the periphery of the slum. No one has toilets in their homes and bathe mostly within their homes.

a) There is a municipal corporation free toilet complex (even though its meant to be free, the cleaners sometimes ask people for money to use it) that has been built right next to an open drain. The toilet stalls are placed directly over this drain and empty into it. The drain gets clogged badly upstream and has not been cleaned for a very long time and is now blocked. The floor of the toilet blocks have rotted away - there have been cases of people falling through the floor into the drain below. This complex has about 20 seats between the men / women. There are no bathing facilities for either men / women. The men end up using some open space within the compound to bathe.

b) Then there are a set of “mobile toilets” with about 70 seats between men and women. These have been here for years and are managed by a contractor. The cleaner / collector sits beneath a temporary canopy and sometimes collects fees for people to use this toilet.

c) The third toilet block is to the other side of the settlement - this is a pay for use complex and is apparently better maintained.

Though the residents said that children do not defecate in the open we saw a number of children urinating/defecating right outside the houses.

Top Reasons to Choose This Location/Unique Aspects 1 . The denseness of habitation and the lack of space make for an interesting study subject2 . How people choose between the three sanitation facilities makes for an interesting

subject of research3 . A unique system or the lack of a sewage system and the just-about-working condition of

the public toilet makes a good case for a design study