Some of those who voted YES had this to say:
• Yes, I support the imposition. But goverenment should first put up public toilets. I suggest, instead of fine, social service for a day as a penalty will also help in both ways.
• Yes, 100% support to penalise defaulters. Also public use structures should be built to avoid such situations.
• Yes of course fine (penalty) or some other kind of appropriate punishment coupled up with steps and facilities to ensure that the person never defects in the open again.
• No need to answer the "Why?" here. We're civilised.
• Definitely I do support. Yet maximum public toilet should be made available so that we don’t have to carry a use bottles for emergency
• Support the imposition. I do urge the concerned to build public toilets so that puclic are accessible to it without the need to defecate here and there.
• It is high time we civilize our society through measures like this.
• Reasonable penalty does have retributive effect. If open defecation is no longer a pressing issue as it was before Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, then perhaps a stronger & reasonable penalty might act as a final nail in the coffin of open defecation. Eradication of polio is a case in point.
Some of those who voted NO had this to say:
• I don't support the policy of penalty in regards to open defecation as Nagaland already has too many rules on penalty paying, and Nagas being Bodmass Bachas and Manu know for breaking rules, that has never worked. Look around, the results are in front of us. Creating an alternative for people who need to make uses of natures call which can't be prevented, by that I don’t mean to say it be encouraged either. The Government of this day can create bio-toilets, portable capsule toilets, pay and use toilets and a trained body or agency to take it up. Look at our reality and then take realistic actions, for a reality start, Just look at our NST run stations (Please tell me one don’t know it) and its toilet facilities in each districts, it’s in complete ruins and OMG its horribly-the sight inside is worse thing for the day any human eyes can bear, one cannot even open ones mouth for breathing in places like that even though one has to attend the biological human call. I believe the Government health department comes under it, if one has to talk on it. Lets learn from other people who are doing better in managing these kind of challenges, the government should train army of human work-force to step up to this basic needs being met for a start. I have never had the feel good feeling in most public toilets/washroom or bathroom even across the State, one should have the feeling of relief and not stress out in places like that! Hope the Government take a note of this (If at all),if not we are all responsible for the mess we leave for our planet!
• There are no public toilet facilities in the town and colonies. First make the facilities available to the public then they can impose penalty for wrong doings.
Some of those who voted OTHERS had this to say:
• Government should first provide public restroom and then impose fines or whatever punishment deems fit.
• Awareness first.
• Being a part of a home environment, we are brought up and taught in such a manner that we use the toilet for nature's call. If we do defecate in the open, it would be when we visit the forest or go for picnic leaving behind manure for the forest to utilise as nutrient. If by any chance we defecate in the open, it'd be the work of gravity and our inability to hold fort and its either the innocent clothes or some dark inviting corner that will bear our load. When we have available toilets for attending nature's call in dense settlements and if we do not find one and openly attend to nature's call, imposition of fines as a penalty for such a human act is nothing more than our own failure as a society to inculcate the habit of utilizing toilets and also the benefits of using an enclosure for such, both for the human as well as the environment. The varied aspects of why we defecate to after we defecate are what we need to be aware of and appreciate that such a natural act that relieves human is also nutrition to the earth that provides us the food that it will take in later as manure. Imposing fines as a mean towards inculcating a habit to attend to nature's call in an enclosure while imparting proper awareness is welcome. But imposing fines as an end to a goal will in no way achieve the desired effect that urban settlements seeks to achieve. Fear mentality will arise no doubt, but more people in emergency will come like a thief, sit like a thief and go like a thief in 4x the speed. We need to further the humour "COME like a HORSE, SIT like a THIEF and GO like a KING" as an affirmative human action is an enclosure with a door and water for all.
• Open defecation as an act from a human being will most likely be negligible in urban or rural Nagaland. Open defecation as acts from domesticated animals which are not stray one are what we need to look into. We Nagas do not defecate openly in most instances fortunately, but our domestic animals unfortunately haven't learned to defecate within their own premises and as such, the land mines outside their homes and within localities are nothing short of a spectacle and a picturesque environmental sight. I wonder why our domesticated animals are not learning to attend to natures call in the jungles at least for now when jungles are still available or within their own premises. Maybe its the government that has failed to teach those domesticated animals where to defecate or animal lovers are just too occupied with their own worldly problems that they see not how their loved ones are contributing to societal growth. If the Municipalities wish to earn a proper and guaranteed income, I suggest they start penalising animal lovers for their contribution towards planting land mines.
