Bhubaneswar: For its initiatives to ensure the welfare of sanitation workers and make the sector more inclusive, Odisha has won two awards at the Annual India Sanitation Coalition (ISC) – FICCI Sanitation Awards ceremony in New Delhi recently.
Housing and Urban Development department’s ‘GARIMA programme’ for safety, dignity and welfare of core sanitation workers (CSWs) won in the ‘best skilling initiative in sanitation’ category while Meghna Sahoo, president of Transgender Swikruti SHG, that manages the faecal sludge septage plant (FSTP) at Basuaghai in Bhubaneswar, was awarded in the ‘Women Changemakers in Sanitation’ category.
Senior officials from the H&UD department attended the award ceremony along with the awardees. “The Housing and Urban Development Department launched the GARIMA Scheme in 2020 to empower sanitation workers across the value chain. The scheme ensures the dignity and welfare of 20,000 core sanitation workers exposed to hazardous working conditions including close contact with faecal sludge in toilets, septic tanks and sewer treatment facilities,” said a department official.
Meghana Sahoo, at the helm of the self-help group (SHG) Swikriti, played a pivotal role in managing the operation and maintenance of the Faecal Sludge Treatment Plant (FSTP) and de-sludging services for BMC. The SHG efficiently oversees 10 cesspool vehicles, extending doorstep services across the city.
ARINDAM GANGULY, OP