People of Gangadevipalli village in Geesukonda mandal had rare guests on Saturday. A team of 40 senior IAS officers — principal secretaries of different states — and representatives of the UNICEF, led by Secretary to the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation Parameswaran Iyer came on a field trip to the village.
The officers were in the village for a first-hand knowledge of the working of twin-pit toilets and how to convert human excreta into manure. The officers, on a training programme at the National Institute of Rural Development(NIRD) in Hyderabad, came in two buses and went round the village. The officers divided into seven teams visited the toilets in seven houses and interacted with the residents to understand its working.
Waste into manure
The villagers have been using twin-pit technology toilets for over a decade and converting human waste into organic manure for quite some time now.
Under the twin-pit technology, the residents have two pits for collecting solid waste from household toilets. After one pit is filled with human waste, it is closed and the waste is collected into the second pit. The waste in the first pit is allowed to dry for over a year. Then the dried waste is taken out and used as organic manure for farms. The villagers gave samples of manure to the visiting officers.
Replicable model
Later, addressing the officers, media and others, the Union Secretary described it as ‘waste to wealth’. The technology has been tested and proven to be safe. It is good organic manure which could be used for farms. “This method should be popularised in other places as well,” he suggested.
Mr. Iyer showered praise on the villagers and said they adopted Swachh Bharat concept two decades ago and won many laurels. “We have heard a lot about this village as an ideal village. We feel happy to be here where people are first in many aspects such as sanitation, drinking water and literacy, among others,” he said.
Significant firsts
District Collector Prashanth Jeevan Patil explained to the the visiting dignitaries that Gangadevipally stood top on many counts as the villagers were united and had achieved considerable progress. Efforts were on to replicate the success stories in all other villages, he said.
Commissioner of Rural Development Neetu Prasad and other senior officers were present.
