Delegation from Amritsar visits Fatehgarh Sahib

Fatehgarh Sahib, May 17

A six-member delegation from Amritsar district, including four MLAs, visited Fatehgarh Sahib today to seek information regarding the success of the first open defecation-free status achieved by the district.

The delegation included four MLAs Sukhvinder Singh Sarkariya (Amritsar), Harpartap Singh (Ajnala), Tarsem Singh DC (Atari), Santokh Singh Bhalaipur (Baba Bakala), senior Congress leader Sukhjinder Singh Lalli Majithia and DCC Amritsar president Bhagwantpal Singh Sacchar.

Local Congress MLA Kuljit Singh Nagra welcomed the delegation. The delegation interacted with officials of the Water and Sanitation Department and representatives of village panchayats and members of the motivators appointed by the department. They also discussed about the problems being faced by officials and motivators in creating awareness about the ODF system.

MLA Nagra also briefed the delegation about the ODF status achieved by the district having 440 villages and said it was possible only after seeking full cooperation from the people of the villages.

He said the motivators’ teams formed by the Water and Sanitation Department regularly visited the villages and created awareness among the people about the diseases due to open defecation.

The Executive Engineer of the Water and Sanitation Department said the department had conducted a survey to get information as to how many houses were without toilets and owners of these houses were asked to fill forms.

He said though the government was providing Rs 15,000 as financial help for constructing toilets, people showed keen interest in baath-cum-toilet models. He said 96 per cent houses in the villages were covered.

Impressed by the contribution of motivators and village panchayats in constructing cheap toilets in their houses, the delegation said efforts of the people of Fatehgarh Sahib would prove to be a source of motivation for the people of Amritsar. — TNS