City life in India

Indoor plumbing is great, but what happens after you open the drain or flush? The answer in the diocese of Cuddapah, like for much of the world, is the open sewer takes it all away, eventually. Open sewers run along the street just in front of the houses/buildings. There are little bridges that cross them so that you don't have to jump over them. There are no sewage treatment plants, no storm sewers. The open sewers connect to canals which eventually connect to rivers and to the sea.

The government is in the process of putting in underground sewer pipe along the major roads like the one in front of the Bishop's house. This will be a huge improvement but there is a long way to go before there are no open sewers left. In the meantime, there is a huge canal in front full of standing water. Construction has also ruptured the water pipes from the well that serves the Bishop's house and they have had to buy water. The water from the girls' boarding school adjacent to the House drains down into the front yard and has created a small pond of standing water that is perfect for breeding the mosquitoes that cause malaria. It has grown so much in the time I have been here that it is now creating another pond on the playground at the boys school on the other side of the House. The kids splash through it as they play cricket everyday. I can see them from my window. I don't think it's sanitary water.

Until the government completes the construction and the Church finds enough money for the repairs, we'll just keep trying to avoid the mosquitoes as best we can.