NEW DELHI: India is to be declared “open-defecation free” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday evening, although experts question his bold claim that all 1.3 billion people in the country have access to a toilet.
Modi made his “latrines for all” pledge when he first assumed office in 2014 and is hailing the project’s success as India celebrates the 150th anniversary of the birth of independence hero Mahatma Gandhi, a sanitation champion.
Since being elected, Modi’s government says it has built almost 100 million toilets, winning the leader plaudits abroad, including an award from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation last week.
In March, the government had said fewer than 50 million people relieved themselves outside, down from 550 million in 2014, with more than 550,000 villages declared open-defecation free.
However, experts are skeptical over his claims, citing data from rural as well as urban areas.
“A lot of latrines have been constructed from 2014 to 2018. Latrine ownership increased from about 35 percent to about 70 percent,” said Sangita Vyas from the Research Institute for Compassionate Economics (RICE).
“That increase did accelerate the reduction of open defecation but in December 2018 we estimated about half of people in the states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan still defecated in the open,” she told AFP, doubting that the shortfall has been made up since.
Many of the toilets that have been constructed are without a water connection and even when they are connected, cultural barriers stop many Indians from using them, experts say.
Modi, 69, was set to make the grand announcement in his western home state of Gujarat on Wednesday evening in front of 20,000 village chiefs.
He was also due to visit the Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat, where Gandhi based himself for many years, and where 10,000 jars of treated human faecal matter were to be handed to guests, the Indian Express daily reported.
The nutrient-rich matter — sun-dried, sieved into a tea leaf-like consistency and packed into the glass jars together with seeds — will then sprout upon watering.
Before that, Modi early on Wednesday paid his respects to Gandhi, who was assassinated the year after India gained independence from Britain in 1947, at the Raj Ghat memorial in New Delhi.
He said on Twitter that India was expressing “gratitude to Mahatma Gandhi for his everlasting contribution to humanity. We pledge to continue working hard to realize his dreams and create a better planet.”
Other events also took place nationwide including in a hospital room in Pune where Gandhi was operated on for appendicitis in 1924.
As many as 600 prisoners were also set to be released in an amnesty, media reports said.
Later on Wednesday, a year-long, 14,000-kilometer “global peace” march was due to leave Delhi bound for Switzerland and taking in 10 countries.
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Modi’s bold toilet claim in question as India marks Gandhi’s 150th
Modi’s bold toilet claim in question as India marks Gandhi’s 150th
- Modi’s government says they built 100 million toilets since he assumed office
- They reported that less than 50 million people relieved themselves outside now
US ‘leading the fight’ against Southeast Asian scam compounds, FBI official says
BANGKOK: A senior FBI official said on Tuesday that the United States was “committed to leading the fight” against multi-billion dollar Southeast Asian fraud factories targeting Americans.
Scott Schelble, Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI’s International Operations Division, was speaking at a press briefing after traveling to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, where he visited several scam centers.
“It is impossible to fully grasp the magnitude of these operations until you see them yourself,” he said, referring to “industrial-scale” Chinese-led fraud factories that have proliferated across the region.
“Criminals should not believe that borders will protect them if they target Americans,” he said. “We know where you are and we are coming for you.”
* Chinese organized crime syndicates are targeting Americans with scams “every day” through “sophisticated, well-resourced criminal enterprises that exploit borders, technology, and vulnerable people to generate enormous profits,” Schelble said.
* The groups are “not bound by laws or geographical borders” and operate with “a degree of impunity because they take advantage of countries’ respective laws,” he said.
* The FBI has deployed agents to work with Thai police on a joint anti-scam taskforce which has disrupted networks, identified victims, and targeted supporting financial infrastructure, Schelble said.
* The FBI has partnered with Cambodian police in the past and hopes to leverage previous success to cooperate on scam compounds, he said, adding that he also had “fruitful discussions” with Vietnam.
* Scam centers are a regional issue and require regional cooperation, Schelble said. “The key is to make each area an inhospitable place for these compounds to operate.”
Scott Schelble, Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI’s International Operations Division, was speaking at a press briefing after traveling to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, where he visited several scam centers.
“It is impossible to fully grasp the magnitude of these operations until you see them yourself,” he said, referring to “industrial-scale” Chinese-led fraud factories that have proliferated across the region.
“Criminals should not believe that borders will protect them if they target Americans,” he said. “We know where you are and we are coming for you.”
* Chinese organized crime syndicates are targeting Americans with scams “every day” through “sophisticated, well-resourced criminal enterprises that exploit borders, technology, and vulnerable people to generate enormous profits,” Schelble said.
* The groups are “not bound by laws or geographical borders” and operate with “a degree of impunity because they take advantage of countries’ respective laws,” he said.
* The FBI has deployed agents to work with Thai police on a joint anti-scam taskforce which has disrupted networks, identified victims, and targeted supporting financial infrastructure, Schelble said.
* The FBI has partnered with Cambodian police in the past and hopes to leverage previous success to cooperate on scam compounds, he said, adding that he also had “fruitful discussions” with Vietnam.
* Scam centers are a regional issue and require regional cooperation, Schelble said. “The key is to make each area an inhospitable place for these compounds to operate.”
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