• Abhijit Nath, NET Correspondent, Tripura 

Agartala, September 20, 2022 : Tripura’s Drinking Water and Sanitation minister Sushanta Chowdhury on Tuesday said that every Gram Panchayat and ADC village in the state will be free from ODF Plus i.e. solid and liquid waste in next three years.

Inaugurating a state-level programme on “Swachhata Pakhwada” under Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) Phase-II during the year 2022-23 under the initiative of Drinking Water and Sanitation department at Agartala Town Hall, Chowdhury said that the “Swachhata Pakhwada” Phase-II was initiated in 2019 with the objective to take transparency to another level in ODF declared areas. For this, construction of toilets, social toilets, solid and liquid waste management, kitchen garden, development of drainage system, provision of dustbins, Gobardhan projects have been launched.

Speaking on the occasion, DWS minister said that the programme will be implemented in 400 villages in each first and second year and in the remaining village committees and village panchayats in the third year. He said, on the basis of transparency and clean environment, ideal villages should be built in the state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been emphasizing transparency for 25 years. As a result, the country has been able to achieve success in forming Swachh Bharat today. He urged the public representatives and concerned departments to work with a more constructive approach to sensitize the rural people on solid and proper management of liquid waste.

Focusing on Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), Chowdhury said that the state has surpassed the national average of delivering drinking water connection to every household. However, in the coming days, along with creating water sources, water conservation should also be given equal importance. He said that public representatives and officials at all levels should work so that the activities of good governance are not left out in every house.

Speaking on the occasion, DWS department Secretary Kiran Gitte said that due to lack of proper business management and awareness, the water bodies of the state are also being polluted for water, plastic etc. along with agricultural land. He also drew the attention of the leaders present in the programme for involvement of women SHGs in villages as well as cities across the state for waste management.

DWS Chief Engineer Shyamlal Bhowmik, Prof. Arunabh Majumder of Jadavpur University, Kolkata, Chandicharan Dey, co-ordinator of Ramakrishna Mission Council were present. Rajib Majamder, Officer of the DWS department, delivered the welcome address on the occasion. The programme was attended by leaders and activists of various levels of Zilla Parishad, Panchayat Samiti, Gram Panchayat and Village Committee.