Cops knock on doors to spread hygiene message
In a one of its kind initiative in Rajasthan, the Rajsamand police have taken an additional responsibility of giving impetus to the open-defecation free (ODF) campaign.
The district cops are knocking on doors to encourage residents to construct toilets in their homes. “In comparison to other districts, Rajsamand is lagging behind when it comes to the construction of toilets, so we thought of taking up the taking up cudgels to help the district achieve its target. We have 14 police stations and each has adopted one of the 14 gram panchayats and are encouraging people to build toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission,” said Vishnu Kant, superintendent of police (SP), Rajsamand. Adding, “People associate the police with maintaining law and order, but this initiative will offer a different side of the force.”
All police personnel are being involved in the campaign. “While deputy superintendents of police and station house officers (SHOs) will monitor the mission, beat constables will move door to door and encourage people to build toilets. The deputy superintendents and SHOs will also take part in the gram panchayat meetings to make sure people understand the importance of toilets and the ODF initiative,” Vishnu Kant said. The police have already started work in many gram panchayats like Railmagra, Khamnor, Devgarh, Bheem, Kelwada and Ameth. “At Khamnor, police personnel had organised a rally with school children to create awareness. Our aim is to contribution as much as possible to this campaign,” the SP added.
Zila parishad CEO CR Meena said that police are not only encouraging people to build toilets in selected panchayats but also convincing the residents to use them. “Our target is to make the district ODF by the next financial year. At present, eight of the 207 gram panchayats (in the district) are ODF. By April 2017, the figure will touch 50,” he added.