Muktsar villagers demand probe into ‘substandard’ toilets

A woman shows a toilet constructed under the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan at her residence in Muktsar.

Archit Watts

Tribune News Service

Udekaran (Muktsar), April 22

In Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s home district Muktsar, construction of toilets under the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan seems to be proving a good source of income for those concerned.

The Indian House Hold Latrines built under the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan at Udekaran village, near Muktsar town, are the best example of it.Nearly 50 toilets have been built here in this village, but the beneficiaries are not even able to stand in any of them. Their height does not match with the standards of the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan. The construction of toilets under the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan is going on in a number of other villages too and the residents have demanded a thorough probe. The residents are accusing the officials of the Water Supply Department and the village sarpanch. They said, “The height of the toilets is low and the entire exercise has proved futile.”

Yadwinder Singh Dhillon, Executive Engineer, Water Supply and Sanitation Department, Muktsar, said, “In this village, the toilets were being built by the village sarpanch after hiring a contractor. We had received a complaint about a week ago that toilets were not matching the required standards, so the payment has been stopped. Not even a single penny has been paid so far.”

Courtesy: The Tribune