KALABURAGI: Koravi village in Hodebiranahalli gram panchayat in Karnataka, which flaunts the open defecation-free tag, has only 26 toilets for 350 houses. A recent visit by The Sunday Standard reporter to the village revealed that several residents still defecate in the open. Nagamma, a resident of Koravi village, says there is no other way for villagers, except defecating in the open.
“Nav Badvarri Yappa, Sandas Kattaslikki Namballi Rokka Elladari (We are poor and we do not have money to construct toilets,” she says.
Another woman, Narasamma, says many people of the village are educated and have knowledge about the negative health impacts of open defecation, “but we are helpless, officials are turning a blind eye to our requests for providing financial assistance to construct toilets. The panchayat has not constructed community toilets too.” CPM district secretary Sharanabasappa Mamashetty, who hails from Koravi, says in the records the entire Hodebiranahalli has been shown as open defecation-free, but there are hardly 26 houses that have toilets here.
“Some people have constructed toilets on their own without taking financial assistance from the government. There are over 350 houses in Koravi village,” Mamashetty said.
Panchayat member Neelamma said though she is trying to get grants for Koravi village for the construction of toilets, officials were not responding to it. “Many people of the village have submitted applications for financial assistance to build toilets. But as the entire gram panchayat was declared open defecation-free, officials cannot release financial assistance for the construction of toilets,” she said.
‘We are helpless’
The executive officer of Chincholi taluk M D Moinoddin said that in the state, toilet construction under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was taken up based on the basement survey conducted in 2012-13. “We cannot comment on how the basement survey was done in 2012-13. As per the basement survey, we have constructed toilets in the houses where it was shown that there was no toilet. The population of the villages has grown and number of houses has also increased,” he said.