Mokokchug, March 20 (MExN): As part of the one week National Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation Awareness campaign (NRDW&SAC), PHED, Mokokchung division with Sungratsu Students’ Union organized an awareness rally at Sungratsu village on March 19, where more than 200 students from Kobulong block participated.
The rally was flagged off by CMO Mokokchung, Dr SS Akaba Longchar, who stated that the communitized departments in the state- Power, Medical and Education - are implementing the different activities and programmes successfully with the co-ordination of the village councils and the communities. He maintained that community participation is top most important to implement various programmes at the grassroots level for communitized departments.
On drinking water and sanitation, the CMO urged the village councils to start practicing scientific method of waste disposal and maintain proper sanitation to contain the outbreak of disease like Amoebiasis, diarrhoea and hepatitis in the village.
He also encouraged the village council and students not to use chemicals and pollute the streams and drinking water catchment area and to make the village free from infectious diseases and human made environment issues mainly caused by jhum cultivation.
The president of Sungratsu Students’ Union, Imchalemba Walling maintained that the presently, mother earth is striving so hard to save humanity and is deteriorating worse day by day at a rapid pace, all because of human greed and selfish attitude. He called upon the students and elders to change the mindset and attitude towards mother earth and start acting from grassroots level, starting from self, home, school and to the higher level.
Meanwhile, the inter school essay competition of Kobulong Block, Mokokchung was held at GMS Sungratsu on March 18, which was participated by 30 students from different schools around the block. The first position was secured by Kilangbenla, while second and third prizes were bagged by Tekanungsang and Lanusama, all from Clark Memorial Hr. Sec. School, Impur. They were given certificates with cash prizes. Consolation prizes were also given to ten students.
Mon: National Rural Drinking Water & Sanitation Awareness Week launch cum rally was held at Council Hall, Mon on March 18 with President KNSK, B. Lomei Konyak as the chief guest.
Lomei Konyak in her short speech appealed to the students to learn from the programme and disseminate and share with others what they have learned from the program. She asserted that 70% – 80% of various human diseases are related to waterborne diseases due to lack of proper sanitation and safe drinking water. She urged the students to focus more on development of sanitation and safe drinking water besides other development because it is related to human health and wellbeing.
In his keynote address, Executive Engineer, PHED Mon, Er Leyang Khiamniungan highlighted the importance of observing the awareness week. He said that National Rural Drinking Water & Sanitation Awareness Week is a national programme to create awareness on sanitation and safe drinking water. He said students are being targeted to attend the program because they are the future and an important source of disseminating information to their friends and parents back at home. Stressing on conservation of forest, he said deforestation and jhum cultivation cause shortage of drinking water and urged the students and teachers to encourage and adopt tree plantation.
Resource person & chemist, Watinaro, spoke on the importance of water & human health. Around 1000 students and teachers from various schools and college attended the programme cum rally, where they marched from Council Hall to helipad holding banners and placards.
Wokha: National Rural Drinking & Sanitation Awareness Week was observed on March 19 at LTC Hall here with SDO (C) Wokha, Thavaseelan (IAS) as the resource person. The programme, organised by WSSO (PHED) Wokha, was attended by WATSAN members and village representatives from 19 villages.
The resource person said that the primary aim of the programme is to accelerate and increase awareness in the villages across the district on sanitation and drinking water. He pointed out that almost half of the world’s hospitals are filled with patients suffering from water and sanitation related diseases. “To make safe drinking water and sanitation available on sustainable basis, we need to involve the water user community and create awareness, educating them to have discipline apart from constructing infrastructure,” he said.
Stressing that every person should act as a brand ambassador in spreading awareness to use water judiciously, Thavaseelan further stated it is the duty of every right minded citizen, especially staff in the PHED department, to spread and ignite the minds of people in the villages and elsewhere to conserve water through preserving forests and harvesting of rain water. He also emphasized on the importance of safe disposal of human waste, water and solid waste management which can help control vector borne diseases.
IEC Consultant, Nisa also gave a brief highlight of the programme and other follow up programmes to be held.
With DIPR inputs
