It was a dream come true for the villagers of five gram panchayats, as authorities achieved the target of constructing 820 individual sanitary latrines (ISL) within the scheduled time of 36 hours. The ‘36 hours-820 ISLs’ campaign was launched as part of the Swachh Bharat programme in Jagtial district.
Collector A. Sharath launched the campaign in Obulapur village of Mallapur mandal, along with Korutla legislator K. Vidyasagar Rao. Even before the set deadline of 36 hours, the authorities were able to complete the construction of 820 ISLs in five gram panchayats, setting a new record in the district.
As per the plan, the authorities constructed 200 ISLs in Obulapur village, 100 in Anthargaon village in Jagtial mandal, 190 in Vengalayipeta village of Pegadapalli mandal, 130 in Nadikuda village of Mallapur mandal, and 200 ISLs in Bhupathipur village of Raikal mandal.
The services of 200 masons and 1,600 labourers were used to construct the same, who braved cold weather to achieve the target. Besides, 50 officials and 400 employees supervised the work round-the-clock.
The Collector made a whirlwind tour of all the villages to inspect the construction, and interacted with the villagers as well. Chief whip Koppula Eshwar halted for the night at Vengalayipeta village of Pegadapalli mandal to oversee the work.
The villagers and local public representatives provided assistance to the labourers and officials by serving them tea, snacks, lunch, and dinner.
Speaking to The Hindu on Wednesday, Mr. Sharath praised the public representatives and district officials for making the campaign a grand success. “The campaign empowered the villagers about the importance of ISLs for a healthy living,” he said.
The Collector added that they were aiming to make Jagtial open defecation-free by January 26, 2017.
