Open defecation free' status of villages to be verified by state governments

 

In a bid to take the Swachh Bharat’s sustainability quotient a step higher, the centre has asked state governments to verify the ‘Open Defecation Free (ODF) status’ of villages periodically. The Ministry goes on to suggest that granting ODF status should not be regarded as a one-time-process and verifications are necessary to ensure that the villages remain so.

 

 

Though the recent rains augmented Hyderabad's groundwater reserves, a study conducted by the Central Groundwater Board has revealed that the water underground contains harmful chemicals and nitrates beyond the permissible limits. The main culprit behind this has been found to be improperly designed septic tanks which let the contents seep into the ground surrounding them. 

 

 

The Mysuru City Corporation plans to incorporate heritage design to public toilets to make them more attractive and bring down people’s aversion towards public latrines. Rs 2.5 Crore has been set aside for the project and 10 public toilets would initially be chosen for the make-over. 

 

 

A laboratory will soon come up at the Rameswaram Railway Station to test the efficiency of bio-toilets fitted to trains operating from there.The Ministry of Railways had earlier identified Rameswaram, Porbandar, Okha, and Katra for developing them as green stations. The overall aim of such a move is to achieve zero waste discharge from all trains that originate and end in these four stations. 

 

 

Many cities chosen for improvements under various flagship urban development initiatives of the Government are found to be seriously lagging behind in terms of sanitation and hygiene. Reflecting this concern, only three of the 98 ‘Smart City’ hopefuls are among the top ten clean cities according to a recently published survey. This seems to be common to cities, both small and large, selected for development under different schemes such as the HRIDAY and AMRUT. 

 

 

Soon, the confluence of River Ganga and the Asi nullah will house a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) to treat the polluted waters of the latter before it joins the mighty Ganges. A Sewage Pumping Station was earlier constructed at the spot in 2011 but could not become operational due to delays in the construction of an STP at Ramna.