No toilets: Power cut off to village as punishment in Kamareddy district

ANNARAM THANDA (KAMAREDDY DIST.): Carrying the Swatch Bharat Mission to ridiculous lengths, power supply to Annaram thanda in Rajampet mandal of Kamareddy district has been cut off because inhabitants had not constructed individual sanitation lavatories (ISL).

The residents of Annaram thanda are finding it difficult to lead a normal life for the last three days. Pleas by the elderly for restoration of power have fallen on deaf ears.

Chikli Bai told Deccan Chronicle, that she is worried about the safety of her children when it is dark. “It is miserable for us to sleep at nights without power supply. Mosquitoes and the threat of poisonous insects give us sleepless nights,” she said.

Chikli Bai says the Rs 12,000 which the government provides for the construction of a toilet unit is not enough.

Kamareddy district was 39 per cent open defecation-free (ODF). After the efforts of the district administration, the percentage rose to 66.5 as 150 villages were declared ODF. Many villagers cannot afford to make additional investments and some are still not aware of the Prime Minister’s per project.

The district administration directed mandal and village officials to make sure that the toilets were constructed and officials forced villagers to construct the toilets.
Rajampet mandal officials directed residents of Annaram thanda to do the same and stopped their power supply in order to demonstrate that the consequences of not obeying would be serious.

Kamareddy district collector N. Satyanarayana said that he was in mission mode to reach 100 per cent ODF by December 15. “We strictly instructed mandal level officials to construct toilets in each habitation,” he said.

He claims that he is not pressurising people but is “trying to motivate the people who neglect to construct toilets” and stopping electricity supply and rations was such a ‘motivation’. Whether such a move is legal is debatable, but Transco superintending engineer Sesharao Rathod has another take on why electricity has been cut off.