Mubarakpur: The village Modi lauded in ‘Mann ki Baat’ for becoming open defecation free
Prime Minister said the Muslim-dominated village set an example for others by pooling resources to construct toilets
Residents of Muslim-dominated Mubarakpur Kalan village of Uttar Pradesh pooled resources to construct toilets to make the settlement open defecation free, an effort lauded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his monthly radio address on Sunday.
The village at the state’s Bijnor with a population of over 6000 and 661 households, required at least 146 toilets to attain the ODF status. Accordingly, a proposal was sent to the district administration seeking Rs 17.56 lakh to construct the requisite toilets.
Chief development officer (CDO) Indramani Tripathi said a day before the commencement of Islamic holy month of Ramadan he held a meeting with the villagers and constituted a 14-member committee to mobilise them to construct toilets.
He said earlier efforts to encourage people to build ‘izzatghar’(as they refer to toilets) did not yield desire result. But this time to his surprise, the villagers returned the money he had released for toilets, saying they would do the construction with their own resources.
Former village head Kafiluddin said 90% houses in the village have toilets now. The villagers donated money to build over a dozen toilets in the houses of those who were unable to afford it.
Tripathi said the villagers showed how a community can bring about a change in the society.
Their effort even caught the attention of the Prime Minister. Modi in his radio address, ‘Mann ki Baat’ said the village has set an example for others to follow.
“The entire village is very happy and we express our gratitude to the PM for recognising our efforts,” said Kafiluddin, who like many others listened to the programme.
Modi’s flagship Swachh Bharat scheme aims to eliminate open defecation by constructing toilets in every household by 2019.