The Jorhat administration is asking its residents to come forward and donate a toilet to those families who defecate in open and who cannot afford to build a toilet.
- Around 256 toilets have been donated in the last seven months after the campaign started in May 2017.
- The first toilet donation was made by Mr Virendra Mittal, the District Collector DC of Jorhat district and after him, many district officials followed his path and donated toilets for the residents of Jorhat.
- Besides individual donations, companies like ONGC have shown interest in the Daan movement.
- The aim of this campaign is to reach 1,000 toilets by June this year.
- The administration of Jorhat is trying to tackle the challenge to convince the people to donate toilets to those who cannot afford.
- It is taking measures by setting examples and showcasing the success stories of people to the residents.
- Residents of Jorhat district, Assam are coming forward and donating toilets to families who cannot afford one under this noble initiative.
- When a baseline survey was conducted in 2012 under the Swachh Bharat Mission to identify households who could avail the toilet subsidy, nearly 20,000 families were left out due to several reasons.
- During the years 2012 and 2016, several new houses were built in the district and they continued to use the kutcha toilet or defecated in open.
- Therefore the government came up with this new initiative of ‘Daan Toilet’.
- The District Collector DC of Jorhat district said that giving a toilet is a durable donation as it can go a long way in preventing air and water-borne diseases.
- Jorhat administration identifies the potential donors who are in a position to make that kind of donation and personally conducts a meeting with them.
- If anyone is willing to take part in the campaign, that person can simply approach the administration and express his/her commitment. The administration will then offer the donor to either take the responsibility of constructing the toilet or sanction the amount to any local NGO which will look after the toilet building process.
- The district has also come out with two short documentaries filming the initiative and recording donors and beneficiaries views. The films can be used to motivate people to join the movement.
