In early October India proudly declared it had ended the formerly widespread practice of open defecation, following years of hectic toilet construction under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. In the past four years India has built more toilets than it has since independence in 1947: more than 100 million in rural areas and 6.3 million in cities, according to the country's ministry in charge of water and sanitation.
So far, so sanitary. But what happens after the flush? Almost none of these new toilets are connected to the sewer grid. India, soon to be the world's most populous nation, produces 1.7 million tons of excreta daily, much of which ends up in the open.
