Sanitation Rally Karnataka
It was 9.30 in the morning when district officials, panchayat leaders, members of the legislative council, motivators, students and interested members of the general public gathered at the Taluk Office in Chikkamagaluru, the district in Karnataka where coffee was first cultivated in India.
The gathering of 750 plus were there to participate in the SBM (Swachh Bharat Mission) Jatha (rally), thereby showing their solidarity to the movement which is set to change the sanitation history of their district.
Sporting white caps and T-shirts with the iconic logo of Gandhiji’s spectacles and the district SBM logo ‘Bayalu Mala muktha Malenaadu’, meaning open defecation free Malnad; and the slogan ‘Swachhata ki ore’ splashed across the front and back; the participants beamed with enthusiasm as they commenced the walk. Malnad refers to the region located on the Western Ghats in the district which receives heavy rainfall.
Organised by the CEO of the Zilla Panchayat, Dr. R. Ragapriya, the walk began at 9.30 am from the Taluk Office and ended at 11.30 AM at Kuvempu Kala Mandir, covering about 1.5 kms.
“We wanted to create awareness about matters relating to hygiene, the need to use toilets and the benefits such practices would bring to their families, the communities and the village,” the CEO said.
According to her, people seemed to get the message. It made them believe that cleanliness is not a job that one has to be forced to do. Rather, it is a good habit and a healthy way to a healthy life. The exercise also helped inspire and motivate field level functionaries so they could champion the sanitation cause with renewed vigour; and be change agents in the war against open defecation; ensuring sustainability of toilet usage.
Another vital objective of the activity was to encourage rural folk, leading to their behaviour change.
Currently, 139 gram panchayats out of 227 GPs; 591 out of 996 villages; and 5 out of 7 Taluks in the Chikkamagaluru district have been declared ODF.
Inspiring story:
Mudigere Taluk Panchayat Executive Officer, M.N. Gurudath tells the tale of 16 year-old Sunita of Kukkodu village near Mudigere who was unable to persuade her father Sheshe Gowda to get a toilet built at her home. Desperate pleas from mother too failed to sway her father. In fact, each time either of them brought up the matter, they were subjected to hostile reactions that left Sunita in tears. “My father drinks his earnings away,” she lamented.
Even the officers had tried to convince Gowda to use Swachh Bharath Abhiyan incentive to build a toilet. But he remained firm in his refusal.
Saddened by her plight, Kukkodu panchayat officials decided to help. “We were moved by what we saw. So we decided to do it ourselves,” Mr. Gurudath said. They began work soon after Sunita left for school in Kalasa that Saturday. They collected tools from the neighbourhood and commenced digging work, while summoning the material they needed. Thereafter they got the help of a couple of masons to lay the foundation and complete the walls.
When the teenager returned home that evening, the toilet was nearly ready. And what a surprise it was! Her joy at seeing the toilet was satisfaction enough for the officials who built it gratis for the teenager in less than a day. I will never forget the joy in her eyes when she saw it,” the officer said.
The new toilet was the officers’ gift to Sunita and hence they bore the cost of the toilet that amounted to Rs.22,000. They allowed the family to keep the incentive of Rs.12,000 for Sunita’s education.
More toilets are yet to be built in Kukkodu village of Kalasa Gram Panchayat which currently has 160 households without toilets.
While district officials applied sanctions on people who continued to defecate in the open; appointment of Swachhagrahis at GP level provided local aid and helped maintaining village level teams. What’s more, Swachhta Champions were rewarded monthly on the basis of their contribution towards achieving ODF status.
Officials also planted trees that were associated with religious values such as Tulsi, Peepal etc. near open defecation sites to prohibit people from defecating near them. Schools were instructed to integrate cleanliness practices in their syllabus in order for children to inculcate these in their behaviour.
Inspiring incidents/stories
While there were several inspiring incidents, a few swachhta champions standout – such as the differently-abled (divyang) girl in Susner block who motivated her village to become ODF; a Sarpanch who helped build 40 toilets in his village and also in the entire Agar block; and SHG members who helped make 5 villages ODF and were used as chief motivators in villages. Some of these women were felicitated at the Women’s Day Celebration in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
Given that people actively participate in cleaning of temples, during a Chunar Yatra in Susner Block, the SBM team hoisted flags that promote cleanliness on homes that did not have toilets – until the household built one. This idea work exceptionally well and a month’s progress was achieved in 15 days.
Another interesting story came from Rampur Bhundwas village. Considering that people in this village people were not ready to build toilets even after a lot of CLTS activities and IEC activities, the Sarpanch set up an overhead water supply tank at the top of his own house which had separate valves for different localities. He would halt water supply to every locality where there was resistance to building toilets. This led to community pressure and within a few weeks that village became ODF.
As a result of community participation in cleanliness related activities, Chhapariya village was ranked 9th across India and 1st in Madhya Pradesh in the ranking of Saansad Adarsh Gram by members of the Parliament. Previously, the village was one of the dirtiest villages; but the decision to set up Keshav Vatika on the open defecation spot motivated the community to adopt safe sanitation practices. It also motivated other nearby villages to adopt similar practices and make their villages ODF.
A motivated team
The team at Agar Malwa kept themselves motivated throughout the ODF journey. Assigning one Nodal officer to one GP developed ownership towards the goal; their experiences and problems were heard and acted upon every Monday; thereby expediting the process. In addition, District Panchayat officers, Nodal officers etc. held village/GP level meetings regularly to maintain the spirit of the foot soldiers.
An announcement by the local MLA on public forum that the ODF GPs will be rewarded 2 lakh rupees from MLA fund kept the motivation level of Sarpanchs high. Also, top performers in sanitation related activities were given priority in government schemes and direct recognition from the Collector and CEO ZP motivated even a common man to give priority to sanitation.
Agar Malwa officially became open defecation free on 30th May, 2017. Having assumed the role of District Collector/Magistrate on 20th October, 2015, the DC said that playing his part as the District Mission Leader was not just professionally demanding but also soul satisfying.
“This is a nation building exercise and efforts of each individual can save lives of children across the country. So it becomes important for leaders not just to keep themselves motivated but also to instill a sense of responsibility in every member of the team. I consider myself fortunate for having had this opportunity to contribute towards this historical initiative of making India Open Defecation Free,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment