Chhatrapur: The Ganjam administration has resolved to complete the building of toilets in every household and make the district open-defecation free by Gandhi Jayanti.
However, the target is nowhere close as many households are yet to construct toilets. Even today, many people, especially those residing in remote pockets, defecate in the open.
The hardest part is convincing people to get a toilet built on their premises. Even after numerous awareness campaigns, the administration has failed to convince people in the interior areas about the need for toilets.
To tackle the problem and raise awareness, the Chhatrapur block administration has struck a novel idea on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.
As part of the strategy, officials with the help of self-help groups and volunteers went to houses with no toilets and tied rakhis to the heads of the families with a request to build a toilet and take an oath on this auspicious day to end the practice of open defecation.
The interesting campaign was launched by Chhatrapur MLA, Priyanshu Pradhan. Along with Pradhan were zilla parishad member S Kishore Reddy, sarpanch Runita Behera, samiti member Ashok Panigrahy, RWSS district coordinator Sashank Shekhar Padhi, block coordinator Bijay Rao, BPM Manini Jena and other officials.
The campaign was organised in 18 panchayats and monitored by Chhatrapur BDO Sachidanand Nayak.
“This unique drive was to end open defecation and boost the district’s performance in Swachh Bharat Mission that aims at creating a clean India,” MLA Pradhan said.
“While Ganjam has special mention in the map of tourist and religious places, open defecation and unhygienic environment have always been a cause of concern. So, the unique step was taken to convince people,” he added.
The block officials had earlier launched a campaign of gifting roses to people who defecated in the open.
PNN