Baripada: The Central government has been laying stress on sanitation through the Swachh Bharat Mission, but the drive seems to have failed in Baripada town if the progress of some projects is taken into account.
The town was included in the Centre-sponsored (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) AMRUT scheme. Sanitation was a major component of the project and it was aimed at making the municipality areas free of open defecation.
The civic body has set up eight public toilets under a special project. Sadly, only three of them were made operational while construction of five others has been abandoned.
In some cases, work of toilets has not been completed while some toilet projects are awaiting inauguration. However, it was alleged that the civic body does not take expeditious step to make them functional.
A toilet was built at Murgabadi at a cost of Rs 23.85 lakh. The official report says the toilet was built but electricity has not been connected to it. Now, wild creepers have started growing on the walls of the toilet.
Besides, toilets have been built at Bhugudakata at a cost of Rs 21.97 lakh and near RI office under ward-20 at a cost of Rs 21.97 lakh, while work of a toilet at Ragunathpur at a cost of Rs 22.93 lakh is under way.
Four new toilets have been proposed at Kacheri Bazaar, near Jagannath Temple, at Darogadahi and Jamunadeipur.
Executive officer of the civic body Saroj Kumar Das said the toilet at Murgabadi will be electrified while steps were taken to inaugurate the toilet at Raghunathsadak Sahi.