WASH Situation Analysis in Tea Estates of Assam

This report was released by RedR India – a humanitarian aid organisation – and the UNICEF Office for Assam and north eastern states in January 2022. It reviews the state of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities on the tea estates in eight districts of Assam: Biswanath, Charaideo, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Sivasagar, Sonitpur, Tinsukia and Udalguri.Representatives from Bharatiya Cha Parishad (BCP), Tea Tribes and Adivasi Welfare Department (TTWD) and Assam Branch of Indian Tea Association (ABITA) visited 60 tea estates between October and December 2021, collecting data for the study. Teams from UNICEF and TTWD visited 18 tea estates and conducted structured interviews with tea estate managers, welfare officers, doctors and teachers. They also had group discussions with adolescent girls in the community, ASHAs and Anganwadi workers to assess the reality of WASH facilities. A further questionnaire-based survey was carried out in 1,960 households across the 60 tea estates by members of BCP and ABITA.Some of the areas assessed through the survey include the availability and accessibility of water, management of faecal sludge in homes, schools and health facilities. The investigations also examined the disaster resilience of the structures. Overall, the report recommends that a combined improvement of services related to health, nutrition and shelter would be required to truly improve the WASH situation in the estates. Expected to guide the next phase of sanitation programmes in the country, the study and related findings also aimed to help ensure a seamless introduction of the Jal Jeevan Mission programme.The 75-page report contains seven sections: Introduction (Section 1); Findings (Section 2); WASH Situation at Households Level (Section 3); WASH in Institutions (Section 4); Allied and Cross Cutting Thematics (Section 5); A Day in the life of a Woman Tea Plantation Worker (Section 6); and Recommendations (Section 7).