ClusterflushA new sanitatkrn plan could significantly c,hange life in a slumresettlement colony, fi nd s G ayath ri Sreed ha ra n.

ffh fewmonthsago,Savari#'ffi Oevi. aS. ventured outof

*isRH, rrer trouse in Savda villageto visit the bathroom at aroundone in the afternoon. Suddenly,she was abducted by a group

of three men, and dragged intosome bushes nearby. Savari ismute, and couldn't cry out for helP.

Fortunately, a young boy saw whatwas happening, ran to Savda forhelp, and Savari was saved.

Savari's story is an extremecase, but it has a lot of her neigh-bours in the West Delhivillagewonied about open defecation

- and notjust because oftheirphysical safety. These women'sconcerns will be one of the mainpoints of discussion, when Dr Renu

Khosla, Director atthe Centre forUrban and Regional Excellence(CURE), and Julia King, architectand doctoral candidate attheLondon Metropolitan University,presenttheir plans for a modelcl uster-sanitation system that's i n

the pipeline for Savda's residentsthis fortnight. Besides being amuch needed solution,the clustersystem will be a firstfor Delhi, ifthe government clears CURE's

remodelling plans.Residents of this jhuggilhopdi

colony were relocated to the

* home run the risk ofg ffi diseasebecauseofffi / the close proximityof

+" rre$lErr<r thesetotheirwashing, " '". """"-""T andcookingareas. NotEfc:l!#frglg gC tomentionthedangers

$\'-SEFE3{FA&* posedbyseptictanks,

rEff.E f{}f fCI;_ which are positioned

'is,trCpnr_i; ilHT:B'r3i'il*"{.t t : d e *iel€ f$] amount of waste water

$ $f*+g{} Ee generated by one family" of approximatelyfive

reasons behind CURE's drive tochange this highly unsanitary way

of living at their llC presentation(their first attempt to engage thelndian public on the importance ofsanitation in urban architecture),as well as the viability of a cluster-sanitation model, not just forvillages butfor more congestedsettings in other parts ofthe city."We plan to create an undergroundseptic tank per 30 families; all thewaste generated bythem will beredirected to a larger undergroundtank, which will be built undertheneighbourhoods parks, from wherethey'll be routed to a nullah nearby,"

said Khosla.The process doesn't stop there.

The waste water will be treatedbefore it enters the nullah, throughan Anaerobic Bafiled Reactor,

which is designed to greatly reduceorganic waste matter in the water,making it easier forthe Jal Boardto recycle.

Khosla is insistentthat,through this ambitious project,

citizens should be made awareof the environment they arecomplicit in building. "As city-dwellers we should understandthe complications we create forsupposedly fringe communitieswhen we sanitise developmentcorridors but otferthe slum-dweller nothingto sanitise hisown habitat," she said. Given howrapidly Delhi has urbanised in thelastfew decades, "we need torethink howthe environment ofthe city is being endangered bypoor planning and bad decisions,"she added.

King, Khosla's collaborator,believes "a good buildingwillalways enrich the occupants'lives. A rotting building is symbolicof a rotten, unhappy, unhealthylifestyle". Originally from Vene-

zuela, King lived in Delhi as a teen,and is no strangerto scenes ofpoverty and illness. Still, her firstvisitto Savda and Ghevra wasa shock. Speakingto lime Outfrom London, Kingexpressed hereagerness to start on her maintask - strengthen i ng the structu resin the villages. "Things have chang-ed drastically since 2010.Thereare a marketplace, now, and autoservices to ferry people to Mundka,nearby." A government clearance isallthey need nowto make Savda-

Ghevra a cleaner place.

Paani, Potties aur Makaanis onftre Mayl,5atthe lndialnternational Centre.See Events.

;;;;';;;;;;;";; wirrraunchthecruster-sanitationvillagesbytheDelhigovernment model)hasT06families,offrom different development which 230-odd have a toilet.corridors, includingthose for the " ln such places, there's a much

Commonwealth Games and Metro higher incidence of diseases like

construction. The relocation has malaria, typhoid etc - airbornebeen in process since 2006, and and waterborne - simply due torumour has it that another few the persisting problem of open

hundredpeoplewillfindtheirway defecation,"Gargexplained.to this back-of-beyond location in Even those who have toilets at

the coming months.Barringa t2.5or18.5 square metreplot perfamily,theygetnothing. "No

socialamenities, noinfrastructure, norations, no sanitation,"is how Ranjana Garg,

CURE's programme

officer, put itwhenwe visited theirfieldoffice in Savda. "When

thefirstlotof slum-dwellerswere people," Khoslasaid,speakingtoresettled here in 2006 [from us atthe CURE ofiice in Hauz Khas,

Laxmi Nagarl, they came in the "septic tanks always overflow and

monsoons, when it was windy seep into the walls, the structure."and wet and cold. They barely had Seepage and the resultant fung-

tarpaulin sheets to work with when us can weaken the structurethey were setting up their houses." quickly and considerably; even an

Today,the houses in Savda and earthquake measuringas little as

Ghevra look only mildly homelike; four points on the Richter scalea line of cement and brick walls can cause serious damage tothat house 15 families every 25 these houses.metres. A-Block (where CURE Khosla and Kingwill detailthe

68 www.timeoutdelhi.nel May 1'1' - 24 2OL2