Union Minister of State for Water and Sanitation S.S. Ahluwalia said the State government has taken up the Herculean task of supplying drinking water to every household under Mission Bhagiratha, which was commendable.
He was at Kavalampet village in Kandi mandal on Wednesday on a visit and inspected the construction of toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission.
Interacting with the villagers at Kavalampet, the Union Minister sought to know from women if they were happy with the construction of toilets. During the interaction, he came to know that the village did not have a community toilet. He asked the Sarpanch, T. Maheswar, to construct one as soon as possible as outsiders visiting the village would face difficulty in its absence.
“Every year, about one lakh people die owing to diseases caused by open defecation. The construction of toilets would save about ₹50,000 per family each year,” said Mr. Ahluwalia. The Minister also launched a website on Swachh Bharat Mission pertaining to Sangareddy district.
Collector Manickyaraj Kannan said work on the construction of toilets has been progressing fast in the district. He said the district would be declared open defecation-free by May next year.
Mr. Ahluwalia inspected the work on Mission Bhagiratha at Singoor and said if the government completes the work by 2018 as it has claimed, it would mean well for people. Informing that nine States, including Telangana, were below the national average of 68% in the construction of toilets, the Minister said as many as 18 lakh toilets need to constructed in the State.
