Haryana chases a cleaner future : The Tribune India

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Haryana chases a cleaner future

Much before the Prime Minister launched Swachh Bharat, Jodhpuria, a Sirsa village, had done something praise-worthy.



Much before the Prime Minister launched Swachh Bharat, Jodhpuria, a Sirsa village, had done something praise-worthy. Thanks to the village panchayat, Jodhpuria is today better than many towns: it has parks and ponds and clean pathways. Former young sarpanch Urmila Devi and her husband Surinder Singh Godara have earned the ‘Village of Gardens’ for its residents.

Urmila is no more a sarpanch, but the couple continues to maintain cleanliness and encourages the villagers to contribute. “It does not cost much to maintain cleanliness. It is only the matter of attitude,” says Urmila.

Kaluana in Sirsa is another village that has shown the way. The village Gram Panchayat got State Level award under the State Incentive Scheme on Sanitation for 2008-09. “We are proud that our village is known for something positive,” says Sandeep, a villager. 

The instances have encouraged Haryana officials to claim that all the 6,841 villages of the state will be open defecation free. “Our officers have worked very hard to achieve the targets through campaigns,” says Navraj Sandhu, additional chief secretary of development and panchayat department. Here’s are ground reports: 

Karnal: Teams have been formed to keep a check on open defecation. Some panchayats have even started imposing a fine. “We have been imposing Rs 500 fine on the culprit. The collection has been given to a temple for utilizing it for constructing toilets,” says Ashok Kumar, sarpanch Peer Badoli. “I have also asked the ration depot holder to stop ration to such persons,” he said.

Ditto for village Nigdhu where fine goes up to Rs 1,000. Reetu, sarpanch of Bir Dandari village, has set an example by getting 22 toilets constructed on her own to make the village ODF. She has constituted a 10-member women team to keep a vigil on residents defecating in the open. 

However, Karnal city figured 65th in a government-sponsored survey, though improving from 123rd rank in 2014. Despite constructing  several toilets and stationing mobile toilets, cleanliness at public toilets is a challenge.

Hisar/Bhiwani: The efforts to create awareness about the sanitation in the Swachhata Abhiyan lacks the logistic and infrastructure support. People, though, have become more sanitation-conscious. “Collective efforts in keeping our environment clean seem to be still lacking,” says Rajesh Singh, a resident of Rental Colony.

The resident welfare associations in sectors 16-17 in the city have found a way out. Every alternate Sunday is meant for a cleanliness drive. But there are several areas civic workers are absent, the bins are not cleaned daily, says Deputy Mayor Bhim Mahajan.

Rural areas, however, are yet to go a long way. “The removal of garbage dumps from streets is the main problem,” says Jagbir Singh of Dhanana village in Bhiwani. Sunita Devi, sarpanch of this village had got the award from the Prime Minister for her efforts in swacchta abhiyan. 


With inputs from Susheel Manav, Parveen Arora and Deepender Deswal.

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