Koppal: Koppal district administration has achieved an enviable feat of raising awareness about the importance of sanitation among the public and persuading them to build individual toilets to make the district free from open defecation.
To cap it all, Venkata Raja, Chief Executive Officer of the Koppal Zilla Panchayat, presented a paper, “Genesis of Open Defecation-Free Koppal in India — conceptualising leadership and innovations to achieve sanitation at scale” at the 41st International Conference in Kenya with the theme, Transformation towards sustainable and resilient WASH services. The conference was organised by the United Kingdom-based Loughborough University and was held from July 9 to July 13.
The 'Koppal model' sanitation and cleanliness initiative was innovative and in the form of a movement. Some of the enthusiastic elected representatives led the movement, which included carrying out a campaign to prevail upon the people to get a toilet constructed for themselves.
Schoolchildren, particularly girls, took up the issue very seriously and began persuading their parents to get toilets constructed. Among them, Mallamma, a girl, resorted to hunger strike to mount pressure on her parents and succeeded in getting a toilet built at her house.
In addition, a multi-village solid waste management system was established in Huligi, a pilgrim centre, which is considered a model for the State.
All these initiatives have caught the attention at the national level with Prime Minister Narendra Modi making a specific reference about the girl’s efforts in his Man ki Baat programme.
