Bengali Report - Bengalee Association Bihar

most areas of Bihar, including some of the urban areas. According to 2001 census,
no less than 75.8 percent of the households in Bihar used open space for toilet
purposes, a private toilet being available to only 22.6 percent of the households. For
the Bengali households in Bihar, the situation is seen to be better, but only slightly
so (Table 16). The proportion of Bengali households using open space for toilet
purposes is 61.1 percent, a high figure by any standard; similarly, the proportion of
Bengali households who are fortunate to have a private toilet is only 30.2 percent,
again a low figure by any standard. Thus, one may conclude that, although the
availability of private toilets among the Bengali households is a little higher
compared to the general population in Bihar, the proportion of Bengali households
without a private toilet is still very high, indicating their poor living conditions.
Table 16 : Percentage Distribution of Bengali Households by Toilet Facilities at Their
House
Districts
Open
Space
Common
Toilet
(Dry)
Percentage of Households using
25
Common
Toilet
(Flush)
Own
Toilet
(Dry)
Own
Toilet
(Flush)
Purnea 47.2 3.6 2.8 26.9 19.5 100.0
Katihar 27.9 13.4 9.9 13.3 35.5 100.0
West Champaran 79.3 3.5 1.1 11.8 4.2 100.0
East Champaran 69.7 4.0 0.8 21.7 3.9 100.0
Bhagalpur 3.4 6.8 4.6 19.4 64.3 100.0
All Districts 61.1 5.0 2.7 16.9 13.3 100.0
Bihar 75.8 1.1 0.5 2.5 20.1 100.0
Finally, it also emerges from the present survey that only 28.7 percent of the
Bengali households in Bihar are fortunate to have electric connection in their
All