World Toilet Day 2018: Districts Across India Conduct Activities To Promote Cleanliness To Win A Swachh Bharat Mission Contest
To mark the World Toilet Day on November 19, the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MoDW&S) is running a 'Swachh Bharat World Toilet Day Contest 2018'. The contest aims to re-emphasise the need for sanitation to become a people's movement with a special focus on sustaining ODF (Open Defecation Free) status. Many districts across India are conducting a series of activities like awareness programmes, awarding the ground-level ?swachhata champions' at public events, waste collection and segregation programmes, and initiating setting up of biogas units and hoping to win the contest. These activities are being conducted from November 9 to the World Toilet Day which is on November 19. The top 10 District Collectors, along with the top three State Mission Directors/State Secretaries in-charge of sanitation will be recognised and awarded by the MoDW&S. The winners will also get a chance to interact and share their ODF journey and future strategies with Swachh Bharat brand ambassador, and actor Akshay Kumar, informed the MoDW&S. Here's a glimpse of the activities being conducted in some of the districts in various parts of India.
In Lumdung, East Kameng, Arunachal Pradesh, the village head initiated the activities for World Toilet Day contest by organising awareness activities on the importance of using toilets and keeping toilets clean. The district administration along with the Public Health Engineering and Water Supply Department is also conducting various cleanliness-related activities like awareness rallies, waste collection, and others.
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In Daringbadi, Odisha more than 6000 people came together to be a part of awareness activities conducted by the district authorities on sanitation including a speech about the need for safe sanitation, and a skit by school students. Likewise, in Mayurbhanj district, rallies and human chains are being organised across 26 blocks to echo the message of sanitation.
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.jpg "World Toilet Day 2018: Districts Across India Conduct Activities To Promote Cleanliness To Win A Swachh Bharat Mission Contest")
Cooch Behar district of West Bengal saw active participation from women in a cycle rally and 'Gaurav Yatra' to promote safe sanitation for World Toilet Day contest campaign. In another district, Murshidabad, a man has started a mission to make his entire block open defecation free through awareness dialogues with people on the message of sustaining Swachh Bharat Mission.
People of Umsaw Mawjynrong village, East Khasi Hills district, Meghalaya, are participating in large number in the various activities going on under the World Toilet Day campaign where the district authorities are encouraging people to sustain the change of behaviour achieved under Swachh Bharat Mission so far and to ensure a cleaner future for the district.
Nearly 20 lakh children live on the streets of India, without an identity, a name to call their own, a place to call home, sleeping on empty stomachs for days and nights. These twenty lakh are children, who have dreams, who have rights, who are our tomorrow. They are living in the shadows today.
During these unprecedented times, not everyone can afford the privilege of social distancing. And not everybody can stay home during the lockdown, simply because they don’t have a home. Those living in poverty are extremely vulnerable, struck with a sudden lack of funds, food, mobility and a struggle for survival. And, as with all humanitarian crises, it is the children who have been affected the most.
It is always the children on the street who are subjected to some of the harshest realities of life. Today they are battling a catastrophic crisis, and it’s time we step in to protect them.
As a part of our COVID-19 response, Save the Children is working across various regions and has already directly reached over 18,000 children and adults to cover their basic needs. The organisation is ensuring their daily needs and their dignity and hygiene are also being cared for. Save the Children has identified 2.5 lakh children in cohorts, across 10 cities in India. Reaching out to these children with emergency relief is a top priority. But this cannot be done alone.
Save the Children and NDTV join hands to bring focus to the lives of children living in street situations. As India fights the Coronavirus, we must not forget one of the most marginalised and excluded groups whose lives have been long ignored – street-connected children. The 21-day campaign will generate public interest and raise funds to ensure these 20 Lakh+ children who live, earn, sleep and eat on our streets are cared for and protected. Amidst the crisis the world is facing, they are most vulnerable, exposed to infection and disease.