Manabendra Nag: Agartala: Oct 01, 2016: Swachh Bharat Mission, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 2, 2014 is one of the pioneering initiatives launched over the last two years. Sanitation is the thrust area of the mission which has evoked positive public responses, especially supports for this initiative from the women and girls are truly phenomenon.
In a small state like Tripura, Swachch Bharat Mission has reaped success in terms of both cleanliness and toilet construction, particularly in mobilizing the public authorities and resources. Similarly, in the private and public schools, the mission and the cleanliness drive has more or less convinced children to keep places clean.
Wondering but true, even in hilly pockets where water scarcity is a genuine problem, inhabitants, mostly tribal people are fast getting habituated in using toilets shunning open defecation.
However, there are certain important sectors where sanitation issue is being grossly overlooked giving a bad impression to the general public. As many of the public raise eyebrows if there is any lapses in higher segments of society who are to teach the grassroot and commons.
Let us take example of a CRPF camp of 71 battalion at Chakmaghat under Teliamura subdivision in Tripura. The camp, important from security as well as social perspectives, shows the big loophole of negligence to carry out the mission mode approach of the nation towards cleanliness. Ironically, the CRPF camp has maintained a very poor sanitation facility.
The jawans of the camp are entrusted to keep a tight vigil along long stretch of the national highway-44. Apart from security related services, the Jawans of the camp have formed a solid bonding with local people and often provide with community services like free medical camp etc and thereby formed a good rapport with local people, mostly poor tribal people. “The camp and the Jawans are role model to us for all aspects”, said Roop Kumar Debbarma, a vegetable seller of Chakmaghat.
However, it is unfortunate that there exists no basic sanitation facility inside the camp. The camp is a house of 100 CRPF Jawans. “The camp perhaps maintains a high standard of cleanliness, but it has no single toilet inside the camp area and jawans have to avail public toilets which are located 500 meters away from the camp”, informed a jawan on condition of anonymity.
The Officials of the battalion revealed, several letters mentioning precarious sanitary conditions of the camp and urging construction of toilets, have been sent to higher authorities. “All the pleas urging setting up toilets inside the barrack fell into deaf ears and actions are yet to be taken”, said an Officer. It is learnt that initially Swachch Bharat Mission was implemented earnestly during 2014-15. However, from 2016, no initiatives have been taken by the higher authorities in addressing the sanitation issue that the jawans are facing.
Narrating the experiences, a CRPF jawan said, “We have to go out of our camp area to avail toilets. During night and rainy season, situation becomes worse due to insufficient lighting inside the toilet. Apart from inconvenience, going to toilets located outside the camp area is a matter of security concern too”. Chakmaghat is not an isolated case. In fact other camps of 71 battalion are also facing similar problems leaving big hollowness in Swachch Bharat Mission.
Meanwhile, a team of high officials of CRPF will visit the CRPF camps to monitor the implementation of Swachch Bharat Mission and accordingly rank the camps. The best camp will be awarded later on. “Despite regular pleas, we have no sanitation facility of our own. How far can we score during the monitoring visit?”, asked a jawan. The people of Chakmaghat are also well aware of the sanitation problem that the jawans are facing.
