Five GPs in Kalahandi lagging behind in toilet construction

Bhubaneswar: Five poor performing gram panchayats of Kalahandi district is preventing the district from achieving the Swachh Bharat Mission (Rural) target of constructing adequate household toilets.

Although the state has achieved 82 per cent sanitation coverage and the country 99 per cent, Kalahandi is lagging far behind with coverage of just 52 per cent.

The main reason for this is some poor performing gram panchayats of Odisha which have not yet achieved even 20 per cent of their toilet construction target.

This comes at a time when seven districts of Odisha have achieved 100 per cent target in constructing toilets, and are now inching towards Open Defecation Free (ODF) plus activities like improving overall social and health indicators.

The latest data of the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, the ministry handling the mission in the country, says that five gram panchayats of Odisha have failed to achieve even 20 per cent of the target in providing toilets. Most of them are in the Kalahandi district and needs the attention of the district and state authorities.

Some of the gram panchayats lagging behind are Trilochanpur (13 per cent toilet coverage) in Lanjigarh block, Dumarguda panchayat (16 per cent) in Dharmagarh block, Lubengada panchayat (16 per cent) in Madanpur Block, Dudgathenga panchayat (19 per cent) in Kokasara Block and Padepadar panchayat (19 per cent) in the Thuamulrampur Block of Kalahandi district.

Statistics indicate that these villages have to achieve a lot for Kalahandi district to be declared ODF. This district is now the worst performing district in Odisha in toilet coverage. Although some blocks like Kesinga and others have shown good results in improving toilet coverage many other blocks and gram panchayats have failed miserably.

BOX: WORST PERFORMING GPs OF KALAHANDI DISTS