Punjab village receives 'Swachh Sujal Shakti Samman' for waste management, sets example for state
Chandigarh (PTI): Peroshah village in Punjab's Gurdaspur district, with a population of over 1,000, has earned national-level recognition for properly managing solid and liquid waste.
Harjinder Kaur, the sarpanch of the village, which has been declared a model ODF (open defecation free) Plus, received Swachh Sujal Shakti Samman 2023' by President Droupadi Murmu on March 4 for a commendable work in the sanitation sector.
The event was organised by the Ministry of Jal Shakti in Delhi to honour the women achievers who have contributed towards the cause.
Kaur said that it was a proud moment to receive the award in presence of Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
Recently, Peroshah village was declared a model ODF Plus village for fulfilling the criteria stipulated in the Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen (SBM-G, Phase II) guidelines.
Under the mission's guidelines, the ODF plus title is given to a village that sustains its ODF status, ensuring visual cleanliness and proper solid and liquid waste management.
Punjab's Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Bram Shanker Jimpa congratulated the residents of Peroshah village for achieving this feat.
"Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's dream is that every village in Punjab should be a model village," he said, adding that the sanitation department is working diligently to ensure cleanliness and water supply to every village in Punjab.
"At the Delhi event, President Murmu said that people should take inspiration from Peroshah village," Kaur said.
A solid waste management and water treatment plant has also been set up in the village.
A Peroshah resident Sukhraj Singh said that the village manages its solid waste here and generates several kilograms of compost through effective management of biodegradable waste.
For this, compost pits have also been constructed for converting wet waste into compost.
"Now, nobody dumps garbage on empty plots," he said.
"The village has adopted modern techniques for liquid waste management. Dirty water is being purified by the villagers and being used for irrigation and other purposes," he said.
He said four years ago the villagers had studied how dirty water should be treated and in April, 2019 work was started to set up the plant and six months later it was set in motion, Singh said.
"Dirty water is collected and treated at the plant. We have laid an underground pipeline and supply is given to fields of farmers for irrigation," he said.
"We have also laid underground sewerage in the entire village," he said.
The village Panchayat has also set up a mini-jungle' in the village
"We further plan to build a stadium so that the energy of our youth is channelised in a positive manner," Kaur said.
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In Odisha, dogs attacked 777 people daily in 22 months: Govt data
Bhubaneswar, Dec 4: Odisha recorded over 5.20 lakh dog bite cases between January 2023 and October 2024, according to data provided by the state government in the Assembly on Wednesday.
This means stray canines or domesticated ones have targeted an average of 777 individuals every day during that period.
In a written reply to a question from Rayagada MLA Kadraka Appala Swamy of the Congress, Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Minister Gokulananda Mallik said that a total of 5,20,237 dog bite cases were reported in Odisha during those 22 months.
While 2,59,107 dog bite cases were reported during 2023, 2,43,565 such cases were recorded from January to October of 2024.
The maximum number of such cases at 33,547, 32,561 and 29,801 were reported during January, February and March of 2024, respectively.
According to the 2019 Livestock Census, Odisha has 17.34 lakh stray dogs.
Following the Animal Birth Control Rule, 2023, municipalities and urban local bodies are implementing the Animal Birth Control programme through organisations, which got project recognition certificates from the Animal Welfare Board of India, the minister said.
Mallik also informed the House that 4,605 stray dogs were sterilised in eight urban areas of Odisha during the financial year 2022-23.
