In order to scale up efforts towards achieving complete saturation in rural hygiene and cleanliness, Director Rural Sanitation, Charandeep Singh today paid visit to Baramulla and took appraisal of different projects being executed under the centrally sponsored Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM-G).
At the outset, the Director took inspection of the land patch at Palhallan Pattan that has been identified for the construction of Plastic Waste Management Unit. He also inspected the Solid Waste Management Shed at Palhallan which has been completed under the SBM.
Similarly, the Director also inspected several other SBM verticals including Community Sanitary Complexes (CSC), Segregation Sheds, compost pits, soak pits etc being constructed at different locations of the district wherein he emphasised to accelerate the pace of work so that such projects are completed well within the stipulated timeframe. Meanwhile, Assistant Commissioner Panchayat Baramulla, Gulzar Ahmad Khan briefed the director about the pace and position of all SBM Verticals besides presenting a brief sketch of activities and measures that are being carried out to achieve complete Sanitation of rural areas. After taking the holistic review of all works, Charandeep Singh emphasised the officers to work in tandem with prominent stakeholders of the society so that all the underlined objectives as envisaged in SBM-II are realized. He added that sustainability of behavioral change is the pre-requisite for achieving ODF+ status, the declaration of which is said to be made on 15th of August this year during celebration of 75 years of independence in line with the ambitious Azadi Ka Amrit Mohatsav. On the occassion, the ACP Baramulla highlighted the range of activities being carried out in the district and said that our focus largely remained on enthusing hygienic behaviours among the people by providing different interventions for the safe management of solid and liquid waste. Gulzar Ahmad further said that proper functionality of all verticals of SBM is being reinforced for ensuring saturation in all villages that will definitely pave the way for declaration of villages as ODF plus Model within the given time line.
Later, the Director held an interactive session with the PRIs at Tangmarg during which they appraised the chair of their issues and demands related to the sanitation of rural areas. Some PRIs also demanded community sanitary complexes based on the persistent demand of the public. The Director had a patient hearing during which he urged them to play a proactive role for achieving complete sanitation of villages. He added that PRIs constitute vital stakeholders of society and they can easily motivate masses for adopting hygienic practices.