16 SC families in Kanyana to get toilet facilities

There is a ray of hope for the 16 SC families in Kanyana as the authorities have come forward to construct toilets along with bathroom facilities for them.

Speaking to DH, Bantwal EO Rajanna said that the 16 families at Balekodi, Marthanadi, Nandarabettu, Icche, Bairikatte, Pilinguli and Pilichamundeshwarigudde in Kanyana Gram Panchayat did not have toilet facilities. After visiting the spot, an action plan to construct toilet and bathrooms have been prepared. The work will be taken up using the funds from Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and gram panchayat fund.

Saplings

“In addition, the families, if they own land, then fruit-bearing saplings, coconut and arecanut saplings will be planted using the fund under MGNREGS. The fruit-bearing trees, arecanut and coconut trees will help in generating income for the family in the future. In case of necessity, even the work on individual wells will also be taken up under the employment guarantee scheme. If the houses are old and weak and the inmates are not sanctioned a new house under any of the housing schemes, then an action plan will also be prepared to construct houses for the families,” he said.

Cleanliness Ambassador for Dakshina Kannada district Sheena Shetty during his visit to the families in Kanyana had found that the families do not have toilets and had written a letter to Zilla Panchayat CEO Dr M R Ravi during last December.

No soak pits

The toilet basins were kept without making any effort to provide soak pits to the toilet. “As a result, the so-called toilet structures were in pathetic and deplorable condition,” said Sheena Shetty.

“Dakshina Kannada district was leading while implementing the total sanitation campaign and Swacha Bharath Mission for the last 13 years. However, the concept of an open defecation-free district remains still far from reality. Without toilet facilities, women and children face inconvenience in the colony in Kanyana,” he said.