Xi Jinping increases funds for renovation of public toilets

The public hygiene rehabilitation plan was launched in 2015 under the title "toilet revolution".  The goal is to reach 12 million public toilets renovated by the end of this year.  Serious deficiencies in sewage disposal system.

Beijing (AsiaNews / Caixin) - The Beijing government has decided to allocate a further billion dollars for the construction of public toilets in rural villages.  The rehabilitation of these areas is part of the so-called "toilet revolution" which started in 2015 at the behest of President Xi Jinping.

The re-launch of the plan was announced by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (Mara) on 15 August.  The Chinese authorities have pledged to supply seven billion yuan (almost a billion dollars) to improve the renovation of the bathrooms and arrive, by the end of the year, at the goal of 12 million refurbished toilets.

The restructuring of the public sanitation facilities wants to bring the most disadvantaged areas of China to the level of the big cities.  However, the sewage system and the sewage treatment infrastructure remain almost non-existent.  In the absence of a homogeneous network of sewers, most of the waste water is absorbed by the soil, causing serious contamination of the natural aquifers.

Some residents of Yizhang County in Chenzhou (Hunan province) also complain that the burden of restructuring falls on the individual owners of the baths, forced to anticipate the necessary money.  The state reimbursement, paid in retrospect, amounts to about 1,000 yuan, that is half the cost that is usually paid to renovate the bathroom at home.

• china
• economy
• xi jinping
• toilet
• public toilets
• sewers
• pollution
• water