He had heard that notable politician Madan Bhandari and President Bidya Devi Bhandari came from Dhungesaghu VDC of the district. So he had decided to travel to the VDC shortly after being transferred. The trek to the VDC from the district headquarters remained memorable for him though."What I noticed on the way to Dhungesaghu surprised me. There were strong stench of urine and feces on the way. The VDC has not been freed from open defecation," he said, recalling the journey. "But we should change the situation now."
Bhola Nath Sigdel, worker at the District Development Committee (DDC), Taplejung, claimed that those who are rich and have access to resources themselves are not coordinating to make the VDC open defecation free (ODF) zone. A team consisting of Sigdel had visited the Drinking Water and Sanitation Coordination Committee (DWSCC) last week to find out why the VDC has not been declared ODF zone.
Similarly, a high-level team led by Local Development Officer (LDO) Keshav Bhattarai also visited the DWSCC to verify the situation. They also came to a similar conclusion.
"Awareness has not reached the VDC. The locals still have not understood the importance of making the VDC free of defecation," said LDO Bhattarai. "Even local political leaders from big parties do not have toilets in their houses," he added.
According to him, many of those who cannot afford to construct toilets have taken grant of about Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 and constructed toilets. However, those who are richer and better off do not have toilets in their houses.
The DWSCC has targeted to declare all VDCs of the district as ODF zone by April 27 this year. The remaining 13 VDCs and one municipality yet to be declared ODF zone would be continuously monitored, informed LDO Bhattarai.
"To encourage the adamant locals, we have adopted a policy that would prevent those who are against the ODF campaign from enjoying all types of benefits provided by the VDC, DDC and other government bodies," said LDO Bhattarai. "We would stick to the policy until the VDCs have been declared ODF zone."
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