LMC confident of making city ODF before October 2
LUCKNOW : The municipal corporation is confident of making Lucknow open defecation free (ODF) before October 2. This would be a fitting tribute to Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, said municipal commissioner Indramani Tripathi, who has started around 40 public toilets in various parts of the city in the last fortnight.
He added that the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) had been successfully performing a drive ‘Lajawaab Lucknow’ to chase away those who defecate in open.
The LMC has also adopted a community-led total sanitation (CLTS) method to achieve the ODF status before October 2. CLTS is an innovative methodology for mobilising communities to completely eliminate open defecation in their areas and make it healthy and clean.
He said, “The LMC had identified
Through the awareness campaign under CLTS, the LMC officials warned the slumdwellers that if they continue to defecate in open, they will be fined ₹250 each time.
INDRAMANI TRIPATHI, municipal commissioner
114 areas where the slumdwellers were defecating in open and the authorities have to motivate them to use public toilets and it required a herculean effort from our side.”
Tripathi said, “Through the awareness campaign under CLTS, the LMC officials warned the slum-dwellers that if they continue to defecate in open, they will be fined ₹250 each time.” This had a good impact and most of them started using LMC’s public toilets, he said.
Tripathi added, “Users are asked to pay ₹25 per month as user charge for the public toilet, which they can afford. This will save hundreds of rupees which they spend on treatment of diseases that arise out of filth.”
Due to laxity in work for the ODF campaign, municipal commissioner had given adverse entry to the city environment engineer and acting Nagar Swasthya Adhikari Pankaj Bhushan in the beginning of this month, said Tripathi.
Besides, the charge was taken away from Pankaj Bhushan and given to joint director animal welfare, LMC, Dr Arvind Rao, he added.
Mayor Sanyukta Bhatia said, “After we roped in students, NGOs, NSS, NCC cadets and teachers for community mobilization under CLTS, we have been successful in creating awareness about sanitation in all the 114 areas.”