In a major milestone for Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin), Hailakandi district in southern Assam has become open defecation free (ODF). The Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Hailakandi Adil Khan said 84,614 Individual Household Latrines (IHHLs) has been constructed under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) scheme as per Baseline Survey, 2012.
The district has a total of 62 gaon panchayats and 331 villages covered under five development blocks – Hailakandi, Lala, Katlicherra, Algapur and South Hailakandi. The total cost involved in attaining the target was around Rs 101 crore.
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“Having attained the feat, the district administration intends to focus more on the towns under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) scheme. More than construction of toilets, we want to bring about behavioural change in the people, and better sanitation and hygiene measures among residents,” the DC said.
The DC also congratulated the officials and employees of Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) for their efforts in making the district ODF. “The Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) programme in Hailakandi district has been made possible due to the team work and coordination among the officials of the district administration and PHED, Hailakandi division,” Khan added.
Khan led the mission from the front, making whirlwind tours to different parts of the district – monitoring and supervising the quality of toilet construction work and getting feedback from the people. “For the success of the mission, credit goes to our DC, who is also the Chairman of the Drinking Water and Sanitation Committee,” said Executive Engineer, PHED, Megha Das.
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Meanwhile, a proposal has already been sent to Dispur for sanctioning of funds for repair and renovation of some of the newly constructed toilets damaged by the unprecedented deluge that hit the district in June this year.