Excelsior Correspondent
New Delhi, Sept 15: On the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, who is also Lok Sabha MP from Kathua-Udhampur-Doda constituency, today announced the first – ever “ODF” (Open Defecation Free) campaign beginning from district Kathua.
The campaign to eradicate open defecation with alternative provision for well-equipped toilets will be initiated from the villages in rural areas and will be undertaken in collaboration with Sulabh International Social Service Organization with the active support and resources from other agencies. The decision to this effect was taken following a detailed meeting between Dr Jitendra Singh and Abha Kumar, Senior Vice President of Sulabh International.
Pertinent to mention that on the initiative of Dr Jitendra Singh, a project is already under way to build 1140 Sulabh toilets in border villages of Hiranagar tehsil of Kathua district, out of which, nearly 100 toilets are already complete.
Elaborating on the plans, Dr Jitendra Singh said, to begin with, in near future, an awareness-cum-education camp will be organized at the district headquarter in Kathua city, with participation from people from all the surrounding areas, including villages at which experts from the concerned agencies will demonstrate the methodology planned for accomplishing the “ODF” objectives.
In the second stage, two to four villages will be adopted at the first instance on pilot basis and once the desired objectives are achieved, the same experience will be replicated in other villages as well.
The campaign will be ongoing in nature, spread over a period of time, and once the major part of Kathua district has been covered, it can be emulated in other districts of the Lok Sabha constituency as well.
Referring to his experience from Northeast, Dr Jitendra Singh said, Sikkim has recently achieved the distinction becoming the first “ODF” State of India and it is his firm belief that with a focused strategy and scientific approach, this example can be implemented in other States as well. However, he hastened to add that cent-percent targets in an “ODF” campaign are easy to achieve when the local population is motivated enough and has a scientific attitude, as was strikingly visible among the people of Sikkim.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, with the emergence of youth population in huge numbers, who are educated and awakened, it should not be difficult to carry forward “ODF” mission with positive results in peripheral States and in this respect, Kathua should set an example for the rest of the districts in J&K.
Speaking on behalf of Sulabh International, Abha Kumar said that along with the “ODF” campaign, their organization will also plan a sanitation campaign targeting primarily the girl children and the primary schools. In this regard, she said, girl children in villages can also be trained in various hygiene and sanitation practices.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
