Dulmi block of Jharkhand is all set to be declared first Open Defecation Free (ODF) block in Jharkhand. All the Mukhias of 10 Panchayats of Dulmi Block handed over a declaration letter to the Deputy Commissioner on Wednesday saying the target of constructing toilets in each of the household under Swaccha Bharat Mission has been achieved by them and hence it may be declared as ODF panchayat.
“Although, the target of constructing toilets in each of the household has been achieved, there are still some people who are reluctant to use them. I will ask the Vigilance Committee members to keep a tab on them and the day when I will get a report that everyone is using them, it will be declared ODF block,” said Ramgarh DC A Dodde. In the mean time, extensive ODF verification will be done by the district administration in the area for the next three week, he added.
“If everything goes well, Dulmi may be declared ODF block by the end of this month,” the DC added.
A Vigilance Committee in each of the villages of these Panchayats have been formed to keep a tab on those persons who are still not using these toilets and are being convinced to use toilets rather than going out in the open for defecation.
“We have decided to impose fine on those persons who are found defecating in the open by the Vigilance Committee and will be made to pay Rs 1051 to be later used by the Panchayat for some other welfare purposes,” said Mukhia of Jameera Panchayat Devanti Devi. The Vigilant Committee has been quite vigilant and has been keeping a tab both in the morning and evening on those who are not using them, she said.
“There are very few such people left going in the open for defecation and we are looking forward that our Panchayat will be declared ODF soon by the end of this month,” added the Mukhia.
The journey till here however, was not an easy one as it took hard work of the facilitators like UNICEF and Vikas Bharti whose workers even had to camp in those Panchayat for several months to achieve the target. UNICEF Jharkhand in association with Vikas Bharti has been providing technical support to the Drinking and Water Sanitation Programme in Ramgarh for achieving this ambitious target of ensuring elimination of open defecation through community mobilization.
“As the availability of water in this block was better as compared to the other blocks in the state, this block was identified to be developed as a model for ODF block so that others can follow the suit. The target however, was achieved much before the deadline which is quite satisfying for us,” said Water and Sanitation Specialist of UNICEF Premchand.
People are being motivated by the Jal Sahiyas and other Panchayat Representatives that they will get their reward as soon the pit gets filled up in the form of free fertilizer for their fields, he said. They are also told that it is also a form of saving by them as it will lead to fewer diseases to the family members which will further lead to saving of money which could be used for the education of their children.
Although, the villagers of Dulmi block presently will have to compromise with the water available near their homes in hand pumps and wells, very soon the tap water will be made available to them through water towers built for the purpose. The work of the water tower was in progress and the officials of the district administration confirmed that water will be made available to the villagers soon through pipeline in these Panchayats by the end of the next month.
Out of the total households of 10,702 household in Dulmi block 10567 toilets have been constructed leaving aside those households which were capable enough to get their own toilets constructed or those who had already constructed it through other means. Maximum number of toilets (1284) was constructed in Soso Panchayat of Dulmi.
The whole exercise of constructing toilets in each of the households was achieved within eight months out of which it took three months to convince the villagers get toilets constructed for them and use them regularly.