Friday, October 31, 2014

Swachh Bharat Mission Kicks off in Kalahandi

The New Indian Express, Oct 31, 2014
BHAWANIPATNA: The District Water and Sanitation Mission (DWSM) launched the Swachh Bharat Mission in Kalahandi district on Thursday. Collector Bijayaketan Upadhaya flagged off the awareness campaign which aims at promoting the importance of hygienic environment in rural areas.
Inaugurating a workshop organised on the occasion, Upadhaya stressed on awareness among the people on cleanliness. He suggested the officials of DWSM to involve folk artistes and use folk media to change the mindset of people at the grassroot level.
According to official figure, only 51 per cent of BPL families and 60 per cent of APL families have toilet facilities in their houses in the district. But, most of the toilets constructed for BPL families are lying defunct or unused. Similarly, more than 374 schools and 376 Anganwadi centres do not have toilets.
Speaking at the workshop, MLAs Balabhadra Majhi and Anama Naik insisted on making the district open defecation-free through a mass movement involving political representatives, social workers, Government officials and citizens. They expressed concern over the lack of toilet facilities in most of the educational institutions.

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