46,000 households have no toilets in Chikkamagaluru dist

Thousands of people in the plain region have been defecating in the open due to lack of toilets.

The situation is worse to the extent that women in Kadur, Tarikere and other places have been going out in the wee hours to answer the nature’s call.

At Ambale village, which is at a stone’s throw away from the district headquarters Chikkamagaluru, people of all the ages are seen defecating on   either sides of the road in the wee hours and evenings.

A young villager said most of the households in the village do not have toilets. Some people defecate on roadsides and on the banks of the lakes. There is a lack of awareness on the ill effects of open defecation, he added. 

Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Dr R Ragapriya said the number of households without toilets in the rural areas of Kadur taluk has increased and 46,000 households do not have toilets in the district.

The shortage of sand has been a hindrance for the construction of toilets along with the lack of awareness on cleanliness among people, she said.

She said the Zilla Panchayat will declare N R Pura taluk as an open defecation-free taluk by January or February 2016 as every household in the taluk will have toilets by then.

Sringeri and Koppa taluks are on the way to be declared as open defecation-free taluks. The others are still lagging behind in having toilet facilities, she added.

The Zilla Panchayat has been organising a campaign from the last two weeks to create awareness on the importance of toilets.

The campaign will gain momentum in December, Dr R Ragapriya said.

An NGO, which is a part of the Swacchata Andolan, said the district is in the seventh place in the State in literacy. The literacy rate here is 79.23 per cent. As many as 4,42,110 men and 3,79, 560 women are literates. But the rate of awareness on cleanliness is low in comparison with the literacy rate, the NGO said.

Financial assistance
Under the Swaccha Bharat Mission, Rs 15,000 will be provided to beneficiaries belonging to General category and Rs 40,000 to those belonging to SCs/STs.

The target is to construct 5,500 toilets in the district.