A Comparative Analysis of Water and Sanitation Practices in Project and Non-Project Villages of Rajasthan State, India

Water & Sanitation scenario in Rajasthan state of India is quite alarming. This state can be improved with joint efforts of community
and Non-Governmental Organisation (NGOs). An international NGO named “Save the Children” is working on this subject since 2009 to educate local villagers about water borne diseases and hygiene practices along with providing them with pure drinking water and construction of public toilets. The present study was conducted in collaboration with Save the Children, with the aim to comparatively analyse water and hygiene practices in these villages and their implication on prevention of water borne diseases. Thestudy was based on interviews and questionnaires, target area being Project villages (Shyopura, Sadasukh, Gulpura, Lesssadi,Lambore Chipyan , Lambore Choti) which were within the project area and a Non-Project villages (Bas-Kanjan, Malwas & Dhyawat)which were outside the project area (with no intervention) During the study, an intensive door to doorvisit,fact of aceinteraction and Focussed Group Discussions(FGDs) were carried out at House hold level.The aforementioned activities were carried out to analyse water and sanitation practices. During the field visit,utmost care was taken to collect the facts and figures with data from the beneficiaries concerned. As per the results obtained from the study, we were able to find significant difference between the Project village and Non Project village in terms of awareness about waterborne diseases, hygiene practices, hand washing practices,toilet usage and water treatment.