ADILABAD: Mukra (k) has become the first gram panchayat in Telangana to achieve the open defecation free (ODF) title. But this came after more than 365 days of rigorous strategising, legwork and a bit of toughness. The brain behind this is the Sarpanch, Gadge Meenakshi, who assumed charge on February 2, 2019. Speaking to Express, she said it took them over a year to turn Mukra (k) cent percent ODF — the village bagged the title on July 22, 2020. But none of this would have been possible without the cooperation of the residents.
There was a time when only 20 houses in the gram panchayat had bathrooms and toilets. But this number shot up to 160 after Meenakshi became the Sarpanch. Apart from motivating the villagers to cultivate good habits, she constituted a 99-member team comprising men, women, and youngsters to create awareness about the importance of having a toilet in houses. They reported to a nine-member team, including the Sarpanch who would hold a meeting every Sunday to take stock of the activities being conducted to achieve the ODF status.
Apart from spreading the word, the 99-member team used to also help the locals overcome financial hurdles to build a toilet in their homes. In case a resident could not meet the expense, the teams would help them get the funds from the Village Development Committee (VDC).
Though all of this groundwork fetched positive results, with several residents coming forward to get a toilet built at their homes, a majority of them still could not breakaway from the age-old habit of defecating in the open, Meenakshi, who was appreciated by Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, said. This is when she divided the 99-member team into four groups — one for each of the four sides of the village.
Every morning and evening, the groups would scatter themselves on the outskirts, catch all those defecating in the open and fine them Rs 1,000. Once a couple of people were caught and fined, the others stopped the habit fearing the steep penalty. This is how, one day at a time, Mukra (K) turned 100 per cent ODF. The Sarpanch and her teams were also praised by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao recently.
Additionally, the village has been selected as the best gram panchayat in preparing vermicompost and for cleanliness. Meenakshi said it takes 60 days to collect the garbage and turn it into vermicompost. Recently, they sold 50 bags of the compost for Rs 1,000 each, making a handsome profit of Rs 50,000. Also, all the houses in the village have water harvesting pits. The gram panchayat has its security in place too, with 16 CCTV cameras helping the police keep an eye on unsocial elements.
160 houses in Mukra (k) village had toilets after Sarpanch Meenakshi came to power. There was a time when only 20 houses in the gram panchayat had bathrooms and toilets. She constituted a 99-member team to create awareness about the importance of having a toilet in houses