Where water is scarce, hygiene is but a dream

April 21, 2016 12:00 am | Updated 05:46 am IST - DESHNUR (BELAGAVI DISTRICT):

A woman returns home after fetching water from a distance, at Deshnur village in Bailhongal taluk of Belagavi district.— PHOTO: P.K. BADIGER

A woman returns home after fetching water from a distance, at Deshnur village in Bailhongal taluk of Belagavi district.— PHOTO: P.K. BADIGER

As the scorching sun dries up all sources of water, the Prime Minister’s ambitious Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is bearing the brunt in many villages in Belagavi, like Deshnur.

“When we do not have water to drink, how can we find water to keep the toilets clean?” asked Peerzada, a petty shop owner at Deshnur village in Bailhongal taluk of Belagavi district.

The toilet built in his house has not only been abandoned, but stinks to high heavens. The household, he says, goes to the fields to answer nature’s call.

“We trudge long distances to fetch a pot of drinking water. Do you want me to walk more to fetch water for toilets too?” asked a woman, who did not wish to be named.

Except for a handful, who have their own sources of water, a majority of the villagers here have gone back to open defecation in the adjoining forest areas, fields or hills, while children use open drainage lines within localities. Taking a bath too is a luxury.

According to Deshnur Gram Panchayat president Deepakgouda Veerpakshappa Patil and Panchayat Development Officer A.M. Lateef, of the 22 mini water supply schemes, seven are defunct. At present, only three schemes are operating. The yield has come down considerably even in the operational ones.

The government sanctioned Rs. 96 lakh under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme seven months ago, under which two borewells were sunk, but failed to yield water. Tendered work on an open well and a ground-level storage tank of one lakh litres capacity has been finalised recently, and villagers hope work will commence shortly.

The villagers have suggested construction of community toilets in which government takes responsibility for regular maintenance and hygiene, said Mr. Lateef.

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