The Kalaburagi district administration is on a mission mode ever since the Kalaburagi Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer, Hephsiba Rani Korlapati, announced on World Environment Day a target of constructing 10,000 toilets for the rural poor across the district in a week. As of Thursday evening, around 4,500 toilets had been built and 4,000 more were under construction. Payments for constructing 2,000 toilets have been made.
In 264 gram panchayats
The special drive has driven the bureaucratic apparatus in all the departments under the zilla panchayat and a few more beyond it out to the field to reach the goal. Thirty nodal officers were designated to implement the drive in 264 gram panchayats (GP) in seven taluks. Panchayat development officers and Accredited Social Health Activists were also roped in and 40 beneficiaries from each GP were identified. Pregnant women and lactating mothers whose houses lacked toilets were given priority. A WhatsApp group was created to monitor the progress and give guidance.
“Our target is huge. Even constructing 4,500 toilets in a short span is not a small thing. We will reach the target shortly,” Praveena Priya, Chief Planning Officer of the zilla panchayat who is overseeing the progress of the drive in Kalaburagi taluk, told The Hindu.
Officials involved in the drive said they faced difficulty in convincing people in rural areas, who are used to open defecation, to build toilets in their homes.
“In some cases, the husbands of pregnant women too were resisting building toilets, probably because of some blind faith. We had to counsel them for hours and convince them. Now, construction of toilets at their backyard is under way,” Ms. Korlapati said.
“Thanks to the special efforts taken by gram panchayat officials, we now have a toilet for the whole family, especially for my pregnant daughter-in-law.,” said Seetabai, a resident Kusanur tanda in Kalaburagi district.