How do you feel when you get a chance to talk on sanitation issue in the morning over phone? For me it’s all time favourites to discuss at anytime, at any forum. Got a call from my uncle retired as General Manager Personnel in Vizag steel plant last year, now settled at Bhubaneswar. Studied in Sainik School, Bhubaneswar long back may b in 60s, spent most of life time in Vizag City, it is good to find his interest in village life. Perfect in planning, just before his retirement he constructed a good house in his village near nimapada with all urban avenues, spending a sizable time in village, going their regularly, busy in doing kitchen garden, plantation, farm house, gossip with villagers, reading magazins, now more interested in reading it from his apple ipad J
Got a call from him today morning, appreciated my effort of writing on water sanitation issues in Economic and Political Weekly. It was great to get encouraging words from him. Discussion started with personal level and went on towards sanitation issues in village, comparison of situation in rural urban, role of Govt. civil society, community, responsible conscious citizen, nation building, on and on. Responding to, many of his queries on sanitation, I tried to let him know the Govt. policies on sanitation and implementation gaps in the sanitation program in India.
Role of NGO, Govt, Community and we the citizen...
What a poor NGO will do - whose work is to motivate people for use of toilet asked to construct it, resentment from community as they consider toilet installation is the work of Govt. and expect more subsidy if they delay the process. Govt. has introduced cross verification and many signatories to check misappropriation by NGOs/ other implementing agencies, signatories if not all many Sarapanch, Junior Engineers except percentage from NGOs to sign in the completion certificate. Irony is that people even want to make easy money of other’s shits. If implementing agencies give Utilisation Certificate, they are paid after many months and by that time instead of being in the field he has to pursue in Govt. offices running hear to their as if begging for money release. On toilet installation if you see the statistics wastage of crores of money under Total Sanitation Campaign, now Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan. You find delapited school toilets as monuments in villages. Most of the Nirmal Gram Panchayats are slipped back and people defecate at open. I don’t understand why should Government engross itself fully on Individual toilet installation for all? Is open defecation free means ignoring open disposal of waste?
Community action for sanitation
My uncle was describing the village life, people’s attitude, how he has started cleaning the weeds from the village road side when at village. While discussing on such issues I told him let’s forget there is any govt scheme on sanitation and involve others in village for such works, was giving tips how to make it a community action. We planned to go to that village sometime together. Person like him can really be a role model and a change maker in his village. Hope to get an additional crusader in sanitation campaign. J
