Karnataka - Mysore   

Improving hygiene in villages

Photo: M.A. Sriram

Need of the hour: The Total Sanitation Campaign will be implemented in seven taluks of Mysore district. —

MYSORE: An action plan to develop villages as ‘nirmala gramas’ under the Sampoorna Swachatha Andolana (Total Sanitation Campaign) in seven taluks of Mysore district has been prepared by the Mysore Zilla Panchayat.

One of the key aspects to achieving total sanitation is to provide toilets in each house in rural areas. The objective of observing World Toilet Day on November 19 is to ensure that individual toilets are provided to each village and convince village residents about the importance of toilets in maintaining hygiene.

India is a signatory to the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals under which the Government of India has to provide toilets to each family by the end of 2012. Hence, the Total Sanitation Campaign was launched in 2005 to achieve the goals, according to zilla panchayat chief executive officer Manjula.

Each below the poverty line (BPL) family will be given a subsidy of Rs. 3,000 to construct toilets and above the poverty line (APL) families will be coaxed into constructing them in their houses.

The thrust of the campaign will be on providing toilets and sanitation facilities to 86,000 BPL families in the district. The campaign is funded by the State Government and the Centre under the Nirmal Gram Yojana. It will cover 48 gram panchayats in the district in three years and envisages qualitative improvement in sanitation standards of the community.

The project will also target schools, anganwadis and individuals. Community toilets will be constructed where setting up of individual ones may not be feasible. Schoolchildren and Stree Shakti groups are likely to be roped in under the programme for holding jathas in every village to spread awareness on the importance of toilets for better health and hygiene.

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