SALLONIPALLY: Hardly 40km from the Mahbubnagar district headquarters, Sallonipally was, till just a few days ago, like any other village in the district.
But over a period of 48 hours, the village has successfully built 336 toilets, ensuring that every household in Sallonipally has an individual sanitary latrine. Till the drive was completed, of the 384 households in Sallonipally, only 48 households had toilet facilities.
The mission, driven by the district administration and the villagers themselves, began Friday morning, with the construction works being launched by the district collector Ronald Rose and MLA Srinivas Goud.
“From my childhood days I have answered nature’s call in an open place due to the lack of an individual toilet at home. There were times when I would get scared due to the presence of creepy (persons’) eyes. But not anymore. The construction of the individual toilet in my house has driven out all my fears now,” Lakshmi, a housewife, said Sunday.
Rose hopes to replicate this success in other parts of the district as well. On Sunday, the village of Sallonipally succeeded in its mission of building a toilet for every household in the village. The mission was realised over 48 hours but the planning had started in advance. With an aim to turn the Sallonipally 100 per cent Open Defecation Free (ODF), the Mahbubnagar district administration had conducted a detailed survey in Sallonipally to implement their action plan.
They went to each and every household in the village and convinced families to build their houses individual toilets. Officials from 26 mandals of the district were given specific responsibilities to undertake during the 48-hour long task. On Friday, district collector Ronald Rose and local MLA Srinivas Goud launched the works with the complete participation of the entire village.