Rural sanitation: Bill Gates Foundation team visits Mandi

Express news service
Posted: Oct 24, 2007 at 0000 hrs IST

Shimla, October 23 Mandi’s success in the community-led rural sanitation drive has started attracting international agencies, who are offering to replicate the experiment in other countries, besides Indian states. More than 150 gram panchayats in the district have already attained status of ODF (open defecation free ) - one of the basic pre-requisite of total sanitation.The district has set a target of becoming completely ODF by August 2008, perhaps the first in northern India.

Yesterday, a 10-member team from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, USA, visited two gram panchayats of Mandal and Barsu in Balh Block to see how the community has collectively made a change in their living standards.The team was accompanied by officials of the World Bank, whose water and sanitation programme (WSP) is also actively associated with the drive.

Paitty Stonesifer, the foundation’s CEO, led the team and met local community leaders and members of mahila mandals to share their experiences. “What actually impressed the foundation’s CEO was the fact that the campaign is completely led by the community and involves no element of subsidy or funding,” said Subhasish Panda, Mandi’s Deputy Commissioner.

Though the foundation, which works on health issues, has earlier also visited Orissa and Maharashtra, this is the first time the CEO headed for Himachal Pradesh. Some of the local natural water sources maintained by the villagers were also visited by the team leader.

Next, a team of Pakistan’s media professionals is also reaching Shimla to collect first-hand experience on working of the rural sanitation campaign in the district. Narkanda block in Shimla with 16 panchayats has also recently become ODF. In all, 360 gram panchayats have already become ODF in the state, barring districts of Kangra, Una and Hamirpur, where the campaign has not yet taken up well.

Strikingly, Kinnaur district in the state’s tribal belt has shown change faster than even some of the bigger districts like Kangra. Now, Bilaspur, Shimla and Solan districts are also witnessing a change, says Director, Rural Development and Panchayats, Rakesh Kaushal.

“Our focus is to see a collective behaviour change in the rural community. Once that’s achieved, the people will start realising the advantages,” he feels.

In Solan, the district plan prescribes for regular monitoring of the water quality in and around the panchayats that have become ODF.

“This is a very good test to monitor community behavior and also prevent re-occurrence of diseases like diarrhoea and gastroenteritis,” said Deepak Shanan, principal secretary, IPH. Shanan says the department is already working on a plan to introduce internal water quality monitoring system for drinking water supply schemes in the state.