TOWARDS CLEANLINESS: The Total Sanitation Campaign launched in Mysore is expected to bring about a qualitative change in life in rural areas. — PHOTO: M.A. SRIRAM

MYSORE: The Total Sanitation Campaign launched in Mysore will cover 235 gram panchayats comprising 1,230 villages in the district and will help in bringing about a qualitative change in life in rural areas.

The project is expected to be completed by 2009 and will benefit 90,000 families living below the poverty line who will be provided with the sanitation.

The Project Coordinator of Water and Sanitation Cell in the Mysore Zilla Panchayat, Mr. Venugopal, told The Hindu that the Government would spend Rs. 11 crore on construction of community and individual toilets. Schools and anganwadi centres would also be covered in the region. Meanwhile, Bogadi and Hinkal gram panchayats in Mysore taluk and Bhyrapura gram panchayat in T. Narsipur taluk have achieved 100 per cent sanitation and are in the race for the Nirmal Gram Puraskar Award instituted by the Union Government.

A team from the Union Government will visit the district and inspect the three gram panchayats before giving its nod for the award. Mr. Venugopal said the district had also taken up an eco-sanitation programme in schools in association with UNICEF which entailed recycling human waste and converting it into manure. The existing system of waste disposal had come under criticism as it used more water and was a major drawback in areas where there was water scarcity. The pit system of waste disposal used to contaminate groundwater, but the new system minimised the use of water during the disposal process and decomposition was fast. Three schools in Krishnapura, Mudlukoppal, and Kempannahosur had been selected for the implementation of the project. Based on the feedback, the concept of eco-sanitation would be expanded to other areas, he said. The zilla panchayat will launch the programme at Viyamballi and Marthahallihundi with assistance from MYRADA. The cost of the special toilet was Rs. 11,000 of which UNICEF would give Rs. 5,000 and MYRADA had agreed to give Rs. 2,500. The project beneficiaries would contribute Rs. 3,500 by way of labour or material, Mr. Venugopal said.

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