<p>Using the funds under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Balepuni gram panchayat has taken up an initiative to dig rain water percolation pits and soak pit construction work.</p>.<p>Wastewater management is a huge challenge in today’s world. Owing to a lack of planning and infrastructure for waste management leads to unhygienic conditions giving rise to diseases and unhealthy situations. Realising it, District Sanitation ambassador Sheena Shetty, Jana Shikshana Trust motivated the gram panchayat to take up a drive to construct soak pit in the households. </p>.<p>The drive has yielded good results and over 50 soak pits have been completed already. There are plans to construct 100 soak pits under MGNREGS. Going by the progress, it may cross 100, said Sheena Shetty to DH. The soak pits constructed at household level under MGNREGS is helpful in solving wastewater management issues, Shetty added.</p>.<p>The construction of pits aims at the collection of waste water from the kitchen and bathrooms in a hygienic manner thereby not letting it to flow down the roads and open public places. To facilitate the percolation of water, gravels and sand is also used in the soak pits. The cement ring or laterite stones are used for the construction. After the construction, work on channeling waste water into soak pits is taken up, said Shetty.</p>.<p>In fact, Zilla Panchayat CEO R Selvamani too visited the site of construction of soak pit in Balepuni recently and lauded the efforts. Under MGNREGS, Rs 7000 for wages and Rs 7000 for materials are given for the construction of soak pits. House-owner possessing job cards under MGNREGS can also take up the work on his land and get paid for the work.</p>.<p>While to improve the ground water table, the gram panchayat has started the work on rain water percolation pits on 10-acre land belonging to the gram panchayat. Already, 157 percolation pits have been dug by the job-card holders including women. The percolation pit is five feet long, two feet deep and two feet wide. The job-card holders get Rs 250 for digging each percolation pit, said sources.</p>
<p>Using the funds under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Balepuni gram panchayat has taken up an initiative to dig rain water percolation pits and soak pit construction work.</p>.<p>Wastewater management is a huge challenge in today’s world. Owing to a lack of planning and infrastructure for waste management leads to unhygienic conditions giving rise to diseases and unhealthy situations. Realising it, District Sanitation ambassador Sheena Shetty, Jana Shikshana Trust motivated the gram panchayat to take up a drive to construct soak pit in the households. </p>.<p>The drive has yielded good results and over 50 soak pits have been completed already. There are plans to construct 100 soak pits under MGNREGS. Going by the progress, it may cross 100, said Sheena Shetty to DH. The soak pits constructed at household level under MGNREGS is helpful in solving wastewater management issues, Shetty added.</p>.<p>The construction of pits aims at the collection of waste water from the kitchen and bathrooms in a hygienic manner thereby not letting it to flow down the roads and open public places. To facilitate the percolation of water, gravels and sand is also used in the soak pits. The cement ring or laterite stones are used for the construction. After the construction, work on channeling waste water into soak pits is taken up, said Shetty.</p>.<p>In fact, Zilla Panchayat CEO R Selvamani too visited the site of construction of soak pit in Balepuni recently and lauded the efforts. Under MGNREGS, Rs 7000 for wages and Rs 7000 for materials are given for the construction of soak pits. House-owner possessing job cards under MGNREGS can also take up the work on his land and get paid for the work.</p>.<p>While to improve the ground water table, the gram panchayat has started the work on rain water percolation pits on 10-acre land belonging to the gram panchayat. Already, 157 percolation pits have been dug by the job-card holders including women. The percolation pit is five feet long, two feet deep and two feet wide. The job-card holders get Rs 250 for digging each percolation pit, said sources.</p>
