SMC to rope in religious heads to make Swachh Bharat a success

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, December 23

The Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) will rope in religious heads for effective implementation of the Swachh Bharat campaign.

The main focus will be to set up toilets in households, which are without such facilities, the SMC said, adding that community toilets too will be constructed at congested parts of the city, particularly in the downtown area.

“Though we have conducted sanitation drives at hospitals, schools and shrines, a lot more needs to be done for effective implementation of the Swachh Bharat campaign,” SMC commissioner Showkat Zargar told reporters here.

“We will be starting a comprehensive awareness campaign and will involve religious heads in it to ensure that the campaign is fully implemented,” said Zargar.

He said a sanitation campaign in Bangladesh, which involved religious heads, had become very successful. “We are hopeful that by involving local imams desired results will be achieved,” said the commissioner.

Quoting the 2011 Census, an SMC official said around 6,000 households were without toilet facilities in the summer capital while more than 30,000, out of 1.78 lakh households, had toilets with unsanitary conditions.

According to 2011 Census, nearly 50 per cent of the households in J&K lacked toilet facilities while less than 35 per cent households received water from treated sources.

As per the findings, out of 20,15,088 households in the state, 9,83,791 did not have a lavatory on their premises.

Zargar said, under the Swach Bharat Abhiyan, Rs 12,500 would be provided for construction of new toilets.

He also said households with toilets in unsanitary conditions would be provided an aid of Rs 5,333. Zargar said the SMC had so far received 847 applications in this regard.

The SMC commissioner said the corporation besides conducting an awareness campaign would conduct an inspection before releasing the aid for construction of toilets.

He said the SMC would also set up community toilets and construct common soakage in congested old city areas.