Sandhya has been living without a household toilet since 2000. Before her marriage, she lived in Delhi for close to 15 years. Inspite of having used a household toilet all her life, not once did she complain about having to go to the fields post her marriage.

However, what hurt her was the fact that her brothers stopped visiting her solely because there was no toilet within the house and going to the field was unimaginable to their city slick sensibilities. Since Maruti Suzuki as part of their CSR constructed household toilets, the relief and joy that Sandhya experienced was something even she was not prepared for. It was only after the toilets were installed that the daughters and women of the family felt safer and more protected. The change now is that in the new houses that are being built, men are in the forefront, planning the positioning and design of their household toilets.

"I have made adjustments all my life, but adjusting to not having a toilet was most difficult. From encountering snakes and scorpions to dodging the lustful eyes of curious menfolk, there were many times when women of this Dhani had to literally lift their salwars (lowers) and run for cover and in the process soil themselves."

Sandhya is one of the beneficiaries of Maruti Suzuki’s Community Development projects. Under this initiative Maruti Suzuki undertakes projects under Water and Sanitation.

So far the Company has constructed 4,455 individual household toilets to help villages achieve open-defecation-free status and laid out around 56 kilometers of sewer line, cumulatively improving the quality of lives in 24 villages. Support for door-to-door household waste collection and sweeping is provided in 21 villages. In 2019-20, a mechanized solid waste management facility was set up in Manesar to convert organic waste from two villages to compost, thus reducing solid waste that goes to the landfill. Approximately five tonnes of solid waste are handled daily and roughly 220 kg of compost are generated. The compost is given to nurseries and local institutions.

Sandhya, Aliya Dhani, Manesar