After World Toilet Day: A Missing Conversation
World Toilet Day brings well-deserved attention to toilets, treatment, safe sanitation, and the larger cycle of waste and water. But this cycle is sustained not only by infrastructure, but also depends on the people who keep these systems functioning every day. Their role often stays partially visible in national conversations on sanitation, yet without them, even the best-designed systems falter.
In Himalayan regions, this reality becomes even sharper. Cold slows down machines, terrain limits mobility, and long winters stretch routine tasks into physically demanding work.
“We see the infrastructure,” a worker in Leh shared, “but people rarely see the hands that keep it working.”
As cities across the mountains confront climate stress and growing service demands, the dignity, safety, and wellbeing of sanitation workers must become part of the sanitation conversation and not an afterthought.
Sanitation Work at Altitude: Daily Realities and Risks
In high-altitude towns, sanitation work begins early and spans multiple roles including sweeping, dry-waste sorting at MRFs, maintaining public toilets, desludging treatment plants, and cleaning drains across steep and scattered neighbourhoods.
The climate shapes every task. “In winter the cold slows everything down,” says Tsering Angmo, who supports sweeping and waste handling in Leh. “Sorting, lifting, even walking takes more effort.”
Frozen surfaces cause slips and injuries; dry waste stiffens; desludging pipes freeze; and toilet caretakers often work in winds that drop below zero. Narrow lanes and limited mechanisation mean much of the system still depends on manual effort. In Keylong, snowfall blocks access, forcing workers to carry waste by hand. In Kalimpong, landslides routinely alter routes. Across Nepal’s mid-hill towns, workers walk long distances between dispersed households. These are not exceptional days but are the daily realities of mountain sanitation.
A Turning Point in 2019
During a 2019 visit to the Leh Faecal Sludge Treatment Plant, BORDA South Asia and LEDeG observed workers waiting outdoors with no shelter, no toilet, and no place for tools or rest. This moment highlighted a simple truth: a sanitation system cannot be considered safe if sanitation workers do not have safe working conditions.
This realisation guided early thinking around worker-oriented WASH facilities, an idea that has since gained momentum in Ladakh and all over India and Nepal.
Workplace Dignity Takes Shape in Leh
Recognising this, the Municipal Committee Leh, with support from LEDeG and BORDA South Asia(, established two dedicated sanitation-worker facilities at Skampari and the Material Recovery Facility. The space provides a warm room for short breaks, secure storage for tools, seating, drinking water access, and a clean area to organise their work. PPE kits, winter-grade gloves, masks, and boots are also being distributed more consistently.
For sanitation workers who spend hours outdoors in sub-zero temperatures, these improvements matter. Reduced exposure to cold lowers the risk of joint pain, respiratory discomfort, and cold-related injuries, concerns that workers across Leh repeatedly shared. The facility aligns with SDG 6.2 on safe sanitation, SDG 8 on decent working conditions, and core occupational safety principles reflected in OSHA and Indian OHS guidelines.
“Earlier we stood outside wherever we found space, even in the cold,” says Chozdin, a senior worker at the MRF. “Now we have a proper room. We sit for a few minutes, warm up, and then continue our work. It helps the body.”
Women workers echo this shift. “During long winter shifts, we had no sheltered place to rest,” says Padma Dolkar, who works on sweeping routes and toilet maintenance. “Now even ten minutes indoors helps us continue without so much strain.”
A designated space also carries symbolic value. “Before this, our things were scattered outside. We felt like we didn’t belong anywhere,” shares Stanzin Motup, who supports both collection and MRF tasks. “Now there is a space meant for us. It feels dignified.”
Beyond comfort, the facility improves operational performance. Workers begin routes better prepared, recover faster between tasks, and are less prone to fatigue-related health issues. In a cold desert where machinery slows down and terrain limits access, such improvements are essential to keeping urban sanitation systems functioning safely and reliably.
From Field Experience to Toolkit: Turning Lessons into Design
Insights from Ladakh have informed BORDA South Asia’s work on sanitation-worker welfare, leading to the Pourakarmikara Virama Kendra Toolkit developed with the Government of Karnataka. The toolkit outlines practical guidance for rest rooms, gender-sensitive toilets, storage, first-aid, safe water access, and basic thermal comfort, which are simple elements that significantly improve how sanitation work is experienced.
Although developed for a different geography, its principles are universal: worker-centred design, OHS-aligned safety, and dignity built into infrastructure. These become even more crucial in mountain towns, where insulation, solar warmth, compact layouts, and ergonomic tools must accommodate steep terrain and long winters. The new facility in Leh reflects small but meaningful steps towards SDG 6.2 and SDG 8 on decent work.
The Parvat Manthan Lens: Elevating Worker Welfare in Mountain Urbanism
Parvat Manthan’s dialogues repeatedly show that Himalayan towns need sanitation approaches tailored to their climate and terrain and not scaled-down versions of plains-based models. Within this, worker wellbeing stands out as a core requirement, not an add-on.
The discussions across Ladakh, Sikkim, Himachal, Uttarakhand, Nepal, and Bhutan point toward a clear next step: developing a Himalayan-specific sanitation-worker facility guideline. Building on the Karnataka model, such a framework would help mountain towns integrate dignity and safety into sanitation service delivery from the outset.
Why It Matters: The Lasting Message
Mountain cities are navigating rapid change, including climate variability, growing tourism, and expanding urban footprints. Their sanitation systems remain stable only when the people operating them are protected, prepared, and recognised.
World Toilet Day reminds us of the importance of sanitation: The days after must remind us of the people who keep sanitation alive.
If mountain towns aim to be resilient, climate-ready, and inclusive, the first step is simple: recognise the worker not as the last link in the chain, but as the foundation on which the entire sanitation system stands.
That is where true resilience begins!