WHO Multimedia Library

Reference ID U271AJL

Headline Diarrhoeal in the WHO South-East Asia region

Description Cholera in India: with the pilgrims of Ayodhya

Of the three religious fairs held in Ayodhya, Ram Navami in early spring is the most famous and attracts thousands of devotees. The fair celebrates the birthday of Ram, perfect king and ideal man and one of the incarnations of God, according to Hindu belief. On the main bathing day, the bank of the Sarayu River is a surging sea of human heads. After the holy bath, the crowds move back to the town for a visit of the temples devoted to Ram, to his consort Sita, to his faithful brothers Lakshman and Bharat and to Hanuman the warrior monkey-god of the Ram legend.

But what happens to sanitation in a town whose population (normally 30000) suddenly increases more than ten times! In 1960, Ram Navami happened on April, the 5th, and the period of rush was calculated to be between 30 March and 7 April. During this period nobody from any part of India could travel to Faizabad or Ayodhya by rail or bus unless he held evidence of having been inoculated against cholera since December 1959. Twelve inoculation barriers were set up on all approach roads to Ayodhya. All traffic was stopped at these barriers where the health staff (including 114 inoculators) worked in relays checking inoculation certificates and inoculating those unable to produce them. The town's 1400 walls were cleaned, piped water was supplied from the waterworks to pilgrims camping on the river banks, hundreds of temporary latrines and urinals were constructed (sanitary police saw that the facilities were used), 350 sweepers kept the fair area cleaned, pre-fair fly control measures were carried out on a large scale, and the Infectious Disease Act was enforced in the Faizabad municipality making it a penal offence to offer for sale cut or over ripe fruits or food or drink exposed to dust or flies.

Result: no case of cholera was reported during the period of the fair.

The pilgrims pour into Ayodhya, on the banks of the Sarayu River in Northern India. They take a holy bath in the river and visit the temples devoted to ram. But, what happens to sanitation in a town whose population suddenly increases more than ten times?

Asset date 01/01/1960

Country, area, WHO office India

City Ayodhya

WHO Region SEARO

Consent No

File size 1.75 MB

Visibility class:

Public

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