Nayagarh: If you are thinking people living in villages are not serious about cleanliness as their counterparts in towns are, you got to think again.
Kantabania village of Balugaon panchayat under Sadar block in Nayagarh district has everything to prove you are wrong.
An arched gateway is there at the entry point of the village to welcome guests. Once you are in the village, the canopy of roadside trees over you is sure to lift your spirits.
As you go on you will come across four ponds. These ponds are not the type you may have visualized before entering the village. The surroundings of all these ponds are neat and clean. The road that takes you into the village is always spick and span.
From here you can imagine how clean the village is. The villagers have toilets in their houses and they use it also. The state government has declared the village as open defecation free (ODF) village February 4, 2015.
The village committee has framed a rule that if anyone is found defecating in open, then he/she has to pay a penalty of Rs 1000.
As the villagers abide by community decision making, they have accepted the community decisions including the penalty rule.
There are seven sahis in the village including Bedhaasahi, Totasahi and Jenasahi. The population of the total village is 1,254.
The villagers stick to a strong community bonding and observe all kinds of festivals like Janmastami, Dolapurnima and Panasankrati. The way they celebrate the festivals tell about the brotherhood maintained by the villagers.
There are 18 Self Help Groups (SHGs) in the village. According to Anganwadi Worker Manjulata, members of the SHGs have made them self-sufficient by making various income generation activities like vermin-compost farming.
The villagers had opportunity to earn from sugar-farm due to sugar crushing factories. But now the sugar factory is lying closed squeezing the income opportunities. In such a situation, the women have come out to contribute to their family income and 18 SHGs are the result of women empowerment of the village.
Officials of rural water and sanitation department regularly visit the village to ensure villagers use the toilets properly or not. The department also organises awareness programmes related to sanitation in the village.
As part of the concerted efforts, the villagers placed a common dustbin at a suitable place so that they dump their garbage there only. The villagers have set a benchmark for others in inculcating the civic sense.
PNN
