hirty-five more village panchayats in the district were on Friday declared free of open defecation taking the tally to 50.
The Swacch Krishnagiri Mission that commencement two months ago aimed at construction of toilets in panchayats that were infamous for open defecation.
The first batch of 15 panchayats achieved the target a fortnight ago. To ensure that villagers used the toilets, children aged between 10 and 12 were roped in to ‘whistle away’ open defecators. They were provided uniforms, caps, and a whistle. They start their work early morning. They walk around areas considered prone to open defecation. The shriek of whistle is intended to warn open defecators. Local school headmasters guide these students.
Village panchayat presidents have been given powers to use available resources to rope in volunteers who can clear the bushes that provide a screen for open defecators. Village panchayat counsellors have been asked to take up 10 houses at a time to ensure sanitation.A “bill settlement mela” will be held on a weekly basis to reimburse expenses incurred for constructing toilets.
Breaking old habits is a cumbersome exercise, says T.P. Rajesh, District Collector. “We want to make it a movement,” he adds. Anyone is welcome to join the movement. This is only a start. We plan to bring in a lot of other activities, such as mass cleaning, and afforestation. The aim would be to empower the citizens by making them stakeholders in sanitation, he says.
The Joint Forest Management Committees too have been roped to make more villages free of open defecation.
Anybody willing to devote time to create an awareness among the villagers against open defecation is welcome to join the movement
