Highlights
- I felicitate the residents of Mubarakpur: PM Narendra Modi
- Rs 17.5 lakh were returned to government by the villagers
- The money will be used to develop waste management systems
New Delhi: In the holy month of Ramzan, residents of Mubarakpur Village of Bijnor district in Uttar Pradesh returned the money given by the government to construct toilets. No, not because they didn’t want to build toilets at home but because they collectively decided to use their own money in building this basic necessity and use the allotted money for improving other facilities in the village. Impressed by this Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted their noble deed in his latest Mann Ki Baat radio programme.
Prime Minister Modi praised them for offering this service on the occasion of Ramzan and said, “I felicitate the residents of Mubarakpur, for transforming the pious occasion of Ramzan into an opportunity for the welfare of society. Each and everything about them is inspiring.”
He further added, You will be pleasantly surprised and happy to know that, during this holy month of Ramzan, these Muslim brothers and sisters, returned this money to the government, saying, they would construct these toilets with their own labour and their own money; and that this sum of 17 lakh rupees be used for providing other facilities in the village.
Check returned by the residents of Mubarakpur
Of the 601 families in Mubarakpur, 146 families didn’t own a toilet when the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was launched in 2014. To make the village open defecation free (ODF), government had allotted Rs 17.5 lakh and a day before the commencement of Ramzan, a meeting was conducted with the villagers, where panchayat heads urged people to use their own money to construct toilet and once people agreed the process of making the district ODF was started. “Once the proposal was accepted by all the people and the panchayat heads, the practice of open defecation came to an end,” Indramani Tripathi, Chief development officer, Bijnor District told NDTV.
138 households with no individual toilets either started using community or their relative’s toilets. And as for the remaining 8-9 families with no toilet access, villagers offered to share toilets until individual toilets were constructed. And this is how the practice of open defecation came to end in Mubarakpur. Congratulating the villagers, Prime Minister Modi said, “And the most important of it all is that they have freed Mubarakpur of the scourge of open defecation.”
After getting praise from Prime Minister Modi, the villagers were very happy and highly motivated to do similar deeds in future said Mr Tripathi, Prime Minister calling our village an inspiration for the rest of the country to follow is the best Eid gift that our village has received.
When asked how the allocated money will be utilised in future, Mr Tripathi said, “The village panchayat is making a proposal to address problems of solid and liquid waste management. The plan is to construct drainage systems, composting plants sewage pipelines to beautify the village. The plan will soon be submitted to the state government.”
Infact, some of the amount was utilised to build a drainage system for a 400 metre stretch near a masjid which proved beneficial during the prayers, Due to the monsoons, water used to get clogged in the potholes outside the masjid. For the first time, our clothes didn’t get dirty during our prayer sessions, said one of the villagers.
On an interesting note, 12 other villagers of Bijnor district got inspired by the residents of Mubarakpur and decided to follow the suit said Mr Tripathi.
