A Correspondent
Hailakandi: A three-day field level training of Gaon Panchayat presidents and secretaries on Sujal and Swachh Gaon under Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) concluded here on Saturday.
Organised by the District Water and Sanitation Committee, Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), Hailakandi Division at Chakraborty Bibaha Bhawan at Katlicherra, the training given in three batches included, among others, ODF status of communities, taking up of an ODF defecation free plus agenda, improving access to safe and secure water supply through the Jal Jeevan Mission programme, solid and liquid waste management and community participation and ownership.
Executive Engineer, PHED, Megha Das informed that the training was successful in terms of participation and the response it evoked among the key functionaries of 62 Gaon Panchayats.
The move is intended to strengthen the capacity of all stakeholders working at the panchayat level in order to ensure and sustain the gains of sanitation achieved under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) (SBM-G).
The success of SBM - the largest ever behaviour change campaign in the world - can be attributed to the extensive focus on capacity building of a range of key stakeholders especially community influencers. “Under this initiative, the training will go a long way in sustaining open defecation free status of the district and equipping the key functionaries of the Gaon Panchayat to achieve the desired results,” asserted Das.
IEC, PHED, Abdul Khaleque Laskar disclosed that field visits were arranged for the key PRI representatives in batches to Rangauti Part I, Paikan and Bajemara.
The initiative includes taking up of open defecation free plus (ODF Plus) agenda and improving access to safe and secure water supply through Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), Program ODF-S (ODF Sustainability), SLWM (Solid and Liquid Waste Management), MHM (Menstrual Hygiene Management), hand wash, etc.