Ranchi, Jharkhand 28 November 2014 :: Specially equipped sanitation van, will now go to villages in Jharkhand to support construction of quality toilets. Two mobile sanitation vans – one for Khunti and another for Ranchi – were flagged off in Hotel BNR Ranchi, in a function organized to mark the World Toilet Day. An innovative experiment, the vans are initiated by UNICEF with the support of the department of drinking water and sanitation in the state.
Similar mobile sanitation vans, supported by UNICEF, will also be initiated in four more districts – Ramgarh, Garhwa, Chatra and Sahibganj- from December this year.
Each van will have two technical persons who will train masons, provide technical support on how to construct toilets and orient villagers on the importance of toilets for improving health and nutrition. During each visit of the van to the village, it will train 10 masons in the gram panchayat and construct three toilets for demonstration. The mobile van is equipped fully with all items needed for construction of toilets like door, roof, pipes and toilet pan. It will also show videos and impart awareness on importance of toilets. 
It is estimated that 35 lakh toilets are needed to be constructed in Jharkhand in the next five years to make all villages open defecation free. The massive task will require atleast 20,000 trained masons in the next five years.
Major reasons for non-usage of toilets were found to be poor quality of construction and blockage of toilet pan and pipes. The mobile sanitation van addresses the quality of toilet construction in the villages in the state.
