Dimapur, August 11: Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) exercise on Swach Bharat Misson (Gramin) Open Defecation Free (ODF) Plus and Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) objectives was organised by District Water and Sanitation Mission, Public Health Engineering Department, on the theme ‘One step closer to building an ODF Plus Village’, from August 5 to 8 at Old Tening and Tening village under Tening block and at Punglwa and Lower Gaili Namdi Village under Jalukie Block, Peren. The event was sponsored by Sanitation and WSSO, PHED, Kohima.
The main objective of the exercise was ODF Plus sustenance, focusing mainly on the management of solid and liquid waste, plastic waste and faecal sludge.
During the exercise at Tening village, SDO (PHED) Tening Block, Volie Rentta spoke about the objectives of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM). He said that JJM is based on community approach to water and envisages supply of 55 litres of water per person every day to every rural household through Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) by 2024. He also appealed to the community to contribute 5% to the Mission through community participation as per the JJM guidelines to achieve the target.
District Coordinator-cum-IEC Consultant, District Water and Sanitation Mission (DWSM), PHED, Peren, Binsaniu Rentta encouraged the community to work together with the department in implementing and successfully finishing the project at the villages on time. She also encouraged the participants to say no to single-use of plastics and to practice segregating waste at the household level and to follow sustainable measures in making the villages an ODF Plus village.
Hygiene and Sanitation Consultant, (DWSM), PHED, Peren, Sashinaro spoke on solid and liquid waste management and also demonstrated the different steps of hand washing with soap while Chemist DWSM, PHED, Peren, Moanaro Imchen trained two persons from each village in using Field Testing Kits (FTK).
Water samples were also collected from the water sources, schools, anganwadis and homes to be tested in the District Water Testing Laboratory, which is at the office of the SDO (PHED) near ADC Hq. Peren Town.
Social mapping of the village was also done by the participants and focus group discussions were followed by a transect walk around the village surveying traditional springs, rain water harvesting points, soak pits, drains, schools, anganwadi centres and Public Health Centres.
The program was attended by Village Council members, WATSAN committee members, teachers, women organisations, anganwadi workers, youths and church elders.
(Page News Service)
