Despite the prevailing Naxal menace, Kanjali village under Padmagiri Gram Panchyat of Malkangiri district stands apart from other villages - it's spick and span. This has been made possible through the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) launched by the administration few years back.
Slogans propagating sanitary habits and cleanliness adorn its walls. The alleys passing through the nearly 73 'thatched ' houses are bereft of any litter. There are no flying plastic bags, no unwanted paper, no cow dung scattered on the streets that look immaculately clean. The populace, which consists of “Koyas”, depends mainly on agriculture for sustenance. And it's not just external cleanliness that the around 350 villagers have imbibed. What makes this sleepy Koya Tribe dominated village, just 23 km from the hustle and bustle of the district headquarter town, stand out among other villages as a model village.
The village Sarpanch Guru Durua, took it up as a crusade and through sheer determination and support garnered from the District Water & Sanitation Mission and helped turn “Kanjali “- comprising a cluster of 73 houses and hutments with a population of 350 - into a model total sanitation village.
Thanks to the District Water & Sanitation Mission (DWSM) for making strides in the field of sanitation.
"Earlier, the villagers were not aware of the sanitation. But after the district administration's efforts and the implementation of the project, the village has undergone a 'sanitation surgery'," says Sarpanch Guru Durua.
Krushna Madkami’s eyes sparkle with joy every time he talks of the new flush latrine constructed just few months back inside his little hutment. He will now no longer have to undertake those arduous journeys at unearthly hours to answer nature’s call..Only two houses in the village had toilets just a year back. Today, it boasts of having a 100 percent sanitation graph. "Not a single house of the village is without a toilet," says DWSM Member Secretary Tapan Kumar Raut. Initially, a lot of counselling had to be done to convince the villagers to discard the age-old tradition of taking a 'lota' (small utensil) and going out for defecation.
"Motivating them to change their mindset was an extremely arduous task. But gradually each one started aping the other. They understood the importance of having a personal and exclusive toilet," says Raut. “Certainly it was not easy convincing all the 60 families of Below Poverty Line (BPL) and 13 Above Poverty Line (APL) to build toilets. All the BPL families were given Rs.2200 each for the construction of the toilet.
Getting inspired by the “Kanjali” model,the District Water & Sanitation Mission recently organized a three day long mega camp at Sivananda Anglo-Vedic School here ,where about 1000 Anganwadi and ‘asha’workers,Sarpanchs and Self Help Group(SHGs) participated.The programme called Community Lead Total Sanitation Campaign was inaugurated by the Collector & DWSM Chairman Nitin Bhanudas Jawale.Later,the delegates were visited the toilets and sanitation arrangements at Kanjali village and were imparted training by the Rural Water Supply & Sanitation and DWSM Junior Engineers under the leadership of DWSM Member Secretary Tapan Kumar Raut. Speaking on the occasion,Raut said the mission aims to replicate the "Kanjali model" in every part of the district and promote the sense of sanitation among the rural people.
Ending open defecation is not a scheme but a total behavioural change. “Once the villagers learn the basic principles of hygiene and realize the scheme will give respect and security to their women and act as a symbol of social status they will fall in line,” said DRDA Project Director Govinda Chandra Sethy, adding that the movement against open defecation is gathering momentum in the district.Tthe delegates also visited Talaguda G.P and took stock of the toilets there.At the end,the delegates visited Pandripani Gram panchyat where about 700 toilets were built in 15 days .
Slogans propagating sanitary habits and cleanliness adorn its walls. The alleys passing through the nearly 73 'thatched ' houses are bereft of any litter. There are no flying plastic bags, no unwanted paper, no cow dung scattered on the streets that look immaculately clean. The populace, which consists of “Koyas”, depends mainly on agriculture for sustenance. And it's not just external cleanliness that the around 350 villagers have imbibed. What makes this sleepy Koya Tribe dominated village, just 23 km from the hustle and bustle of the district headquarter town, stand out among other villages as a model village.
The village Sarpanch Guru Durua, took it up as a crusade and through sheer determination and support garnered from the District Water & Sanitation Mission and helped turn “Kanjali “- comprising a cluster of 73 houses and hutments with a population of 350 - into a model total sanitation village.
Thanks to the District Water & Sanitation Mission (DWSM) for making strides in the field of sanitation.
"Earlier, the villagers were not aware of the sanitation. But after the district administration's efforts and the implementation of the project, the village has undergone a 'sanitation surgery'," says Sarpanch Guru Durua.
Krushna Madkami’s eyes sparkle with joy every time he talks of the new flush latrine constructed just few months back inside his little hutment. He will now no longer have to undertake those arduous journeys at unearthly hours to answer nature’s call..Only two houses in the village had toilets just a year back. Today, it boasts of having a 100 percent sanitation graph. "Not a single house of the village is without a toilet," says DWSM Member Secretary Tapan Kumar Raut. Initially, a lot of counselling had to be done to convince the villagers to discard the age-old tradition of taking a 'lota' (small utensil) and going out for defecation.
"Motivating them to change their mindset was an extremely arduous task. But gradually each one started aping the other. They understood the importance of having a personal and exclusive toilet," says Raut. “Certainly it was not easy convincing all the 60 families of Below Poverty Line (BPL) and 13 Above Poverty Line (APL) to build toilets. All the BPL families were given Rs.2200 each for the construction of the toilet.
Getting inspired by the “Kanjali” model,the District Water & Sanitation Mission recently organized a three day long mega camp at Sivananda Anglo-Vedic School here ,where about 1000 Anganwadi and ‘asha’workers,Sarpanchs and Self Help Group(SHGs) participated.The programme called Community Lead Total Sanitation Campaign was inaugurated by the Collector & DWSM Chairman Nitin Bhanudas Jawale.Later,the delegates were visited the toilets and sanitation arrangements at Kanjali village and were imparted training by the Rural Water Supply & Sanitation and DWSM Junior Engineers under the leadership of DWSM Member Secretary Tapan Kumar Raut. Speaking on the occasion,Raut said the mission aims to replicate the "Kanjali model" in every part of the district and promote the sense of sanitation among the rural people.
Ending open defecation is not a scheme but a total behavioural change. “Once the villagers learn the basic principles of hygiene and realize the scheme will give respect and security to their women and act as a symbol of social status they will fall in line,” said DRDA Project Director Govinda Chandra Sethy, adding that the movement against open defecation is gathering momentum in the district.Tthe delegates also visited Talaguda G.P and took stock of the toilets there.At the end,the delegates visited Pandripani Gram panchyat where about 700 toilets were built in 15 days .
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