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A Thane village has lessons in cleanliness
Garbage was strewn all over the place, people would defecate and urinate in the open. Now all of us follow the village rulebook by choice. Our mindsets have changed.SUWARNA KHARPADE Sarpanch of Hanuman Nagar...Sayli Udas Mankikar Thane
WITH THE Forbes magazine survey naming Mumbai the seventh dirtiest city in the world, there are lessons for the financial capital in cleanliness and hygiene, from an unlikely quarter - Hanuman Nagar, a tribal village in Thane district, some 112 km from Mumbai.
A walk into the village leaves you surprised. The clean pathways with uniform geru (red soil) coloured houses with bamboo compounds in light green shades. No garbage dumps or dung heaps anywhere. No paan stains. And yes, anyone defecating in the open is slapped with a Rs 50 fine. "All of us follow the village rule book by choice. Our mindsets have changed," says Sarpanch Suwarna Kharpade (37), who spearheads the cleanliness campaign. The village, two years ago, was nothing close to this, says Kharpade. "Garbage was strewn all over the place, people would defecate and urinate in the open and spit wherever they wanted." "In 2006, when I became sarpanch, I decided to take up the cause of a clean village. We visited another village Mahaluge, a recipient of a cleanliness award, and were instantly inspired," she said. "Our priority was to stop open defecation. We introduced the concept of Rs 350 toilets for which we got funded," said Pramila Umbersada, a villager. "We used images and educational films to convince people that lack of sanitation was directly related to diseases," added Umbersada. A resolution was passed to fine those defecating in the open. Now all the 183 houses have a toilet outside their homes and 62 of them are attached with gobar gas. Bamboo baskets became makeshift dustbins. "Waste from the kitchen and the front yard of every house goes into a compost pit. After every four months this is used in fields as a fertiliser," said Vivek Patil, a school master. The clean surroundings have transformed their way of life. Children who would go without clothes are now properly clothed and have learnt to wash their hands before every meal. SETTING AN EXAMPLE 1 Hanuman Nagar is a tribal village in Thane district, 112 km from Mumbai. It won the ‘Nirmal Gram Puraska' 2007 and got Rs 1 lakh from the Centre. 2 To stop open defecation, it introduced cheap toilets of Rs 350. Now all 183 houses have toilets. A resolution to fine anyone defecating in the open was also passed. 3 Children have now learnt to wash their hands before every meal. Toothpaste and brushes have replaced twigs. URL: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/artMailDisp.aspx?article=20_03_2008_007_002&typ=0&pub=264 |
| Also see : Environment, Environment : News Articles |
