Though the number of toilets constructed is increasing over the years, their rate of usage remains very low, a senior officer in charge of sanitation said in Bidar on Monday.
Gautam Arali, district Swachch Bharat Abhiyan coordinating officer, said that while thousands of toilets were being built in the district every year, usage remained stuck at 15-16 per cent. There is need for increased awareness about sanitation. The responsibility of creating awareness by linking health and hygiene lies with the media and NGOs, apart from government efforts, Dr Arali said.
Lack of awareness among the public, non-cooperation from elected members in gram, taluk and zilla panchayats and the slow pace of construction of toilets by local bodies have resulted in Bidar figuring among the last five districts on the toilet coverage and usage index, he said. He was speaking at a sensitisation workshop about sanitation, organised by Communication for Development and Learning and India Water Portal.
ADVERTISEMENT
The State government, through the zilla panchayat and departments of Kannada and Culture and Information, is trying to spread awareness. We organise street plays, song and dance performances in villages that speak about how the spread of epidemics can be avoided by eliminating open defecation and using toilets.
Bidar has 17 lakh population of 2.79 lakh families. Of these, only 30,000 families have toilets. The government aims to build 50,000 toilets per year. However, the pace of construction in recent years has been around 30,000 per year, building 90,158 units from years 2013 to 2016. This year the panchayat set a target of 55,000 toilets and around 6,378 have already been constructed.
Bidar Zilla Panchayat is aiming to make Telagaon in Bhalki and Chandori village in Aurad taluk open defecation free villages in one year, he said.
ADVERTISEMENT