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Chapter 6 Sanitation
Sanitation problems have been chronic in the settlement from the early years of its construction; in spite of
an alternate pit latrine being connected to every plot. The frequent filling up of the pits and the indiscriminate
emptying of them were the main problems. Due to the lack of any appropriate provisions for disposing the waste
of the pits, the raw waste was often dumped in drains and other water bodies or was left to purposely leak out
or overflow, leading the household compounds and living areas to be heavily contaminated. The people of the
settlement, for a long time had demanded the Government, political leaders or any organizational representatives
that visited the area to make their living environment habitable.
The main objective of the sanitation component of the project, providing a sanitary and hygienic environment,
progressed through situation analyses, educational intervention, and research and testing of appropriate
technology. During the course of the projects three options: (1) deep pit latrines (both single and twin pit latrines),
(2) septic tanks (Agargao only), and (3) biogas based sewerage systems were pilot tested. The biogas based
sewerage system was found to be the most appropriate and demanded option in both areas (Bauniabad and
Agargao: see chapter 2 for more details). The following sections present the performance of the options, the
sanitation practices of the residents of Bauniabad, cost implication data, and the current situational status as
observed during this case study.
6.1 Sanitation System Options
In Bangladesh, pit latrines and septic tanks are promoted for urban areas. The capital city, Dhaka, has the only
water borne sewerage system in the country based on an aerobic pond treatment system. Usually various kinds
of pit latrines are promoted; such as, single pit, twin pit, alternate pit and offset pit latrines. There are no formal
mechanisms in rural or urban poor areas to empty the contents of the pits as they fill up, and as mentioned
earlier, costs to empty the pits were very high, therefore, the users were expected to empty and bury the contents
of the pit by themselves or with the help of other residents. However, as Bangladesh has the one of the highest
population density levels in the world and is also very flood prone, there is limited space available to bury the
contents. There are often complaints that pits fill up within short periods and that it is difficult to empty them
hygienically. It is also difficult to construct pits in flood prone areas, as they have to raise the land. In addition to the
cost affordability on the part of the people, available space, maintenance, and other issues also affect the hygienic
disposal of human excreta.
It was attempted to incorporate the demands of the residents during the research and development of the biogas
option. By doing so, the existing latrine pits were abolished, and the squatting place was connected to a biogas
based sewerage system. This process provided the residents who were badly in need of space to have additional
room for living without experiencing the health hazards they had to while they had pit latrines. They were told that
the option would have the provision for basic sanitation, a cleaner environment, and rid them of the responsibility
of disposing the excreta themselves. The history and interventions about sanitation are included in Chapter 2.
6.2 Sanitation Practices
The sanitation practice data indicates that overall, majority (73%) of the families surveyed inside the blocks
changed their option from pit latrines to
biogas based sewerage systems over the
periods as shown in Figure 6.1. Almost all of
the families were using ring slab pit latrines
or other options until the year 1999. The
details of the analysis can be found in Table
A-4.3 in Appendix 4.
After 1999, 14% of the surveyed families
inside the blocks and 80% of the surveyed
families outside the blocks from the
neighborhood were still using pit latrines
(Figures 6.1 and 6.2). Most of the pit rings of
the pit latrines being used by these people
were observed to be leaking or broken,
thereby contaminating the living area.
Almost all of the respondents (more than
40