Although rural Karnataka was declared “Open Defecation Free” in 2018, a survey of women in 390 Scheduled Caste households in Chikkodi taluk, Belagavi, has found that nearly 50% of the households do not have a toilet at home.
The survey, conducted by ActionAid Karnataka in February 2026 across 13 villages in the taluk, found that several villages do not have public toilets. In villages that have public toilets, many were found unusable owing to a lack of water connections, poor maintenance, or unclean conditions.
All these contribute to the continuing practice of open defecation in the region and disproportionately impact women and elderly residents who do not have access to private or usable community sanitation facilities, notes the report.
Lack of public toilets
During the survey, 196 out of 390 respondents reported not having toilets at their homes.
