SHILLONG/MAWKYRWAT: South West Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner Isawanda Laloo said on Thursday the ‘Swachh Bharat’ award would motivate the district administration to work harder to bring about changes in regard to hygiene and sanitation.
Laloo, who received the award from Bollywood actor and Swachh Bharat brand ambassador Akshay Kumar on Wednesday, said, “It is an honour to receive the award for South West Khasi Hills district that is one of the 12 winning districts from across the country.”
She dedicated the award to the entire Swachh Mission team in the district and the “enthusiastic, hard-working village water and sanitation communities”.
“We are motivated to work harder to bring about improved practices and behaviour change in respect of sanitation, cleanliness and waste management throughout the district and the state,” she added.
The district was adjudged as one of the winners of a competition for National Toilet Day conducted last November.
The award was distributed during a short meet with the Toilet: Ek Prem Katha actor in Mumbai in the presence of Parameshwaran Iyer, secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, and DG, SBM (G) Akshay Rout.
Activities conducted under the National Toilet Day celebrations in the district included a number of community and village-level events such as cleaning drives, rallies and awareness programmmes to sensitise and raise awareness on public sanitation and waste management.
One activity called the ‘Walk and Pick’ encouraged people to take up a responsible stance against public littering. Laloo said the ambassador heard about the experiences encountered by the team on the field regarding efforts to bring about open defecation free (ODF).
Also, “the actor’s commitment to take up women-centric issues and taboo topics concerning women’s health and sanitation to the big screen is very inspiring”, the DC said.
“He spoke about his continuous efforts to spread awareness on twin-pit toilets, ODF, etc after the making of the film ‘Toilet’ and wished that ‘Padman’ will take off as well,” she added.
