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Burha Mayong becomes open defecation free village

By Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, April 24 - Burha Mayong, a Morigaon District village, about 26 km northeast of this capital city of the State, has now become an open defecation free (ODF) village, courtesy the initiatives taken by the Lions Club of Narangi. The voluntary organisation has received support from the Rashtriya Gramin Vikash Nidhi (RGVN) and the IFCI Limited (Ltd) in this regard.

Lions Club of Narangi president Dr IS Mumtaza told this newspaper that in 2012, it had adopted Burha Mayong and it is here that most of the activities of the Narangi unit of the Lions Club are concentrated now.

When the Lions Club adopted this village, it had an open defecation rate of around 75 per cent. Of its 165 households, only 41 had functional sanitary toilets then. The Lions Club approached the RGVN authorities in February 2016 with a request to extend support in making Burha Mayong, a 100 per cent ODF village.

The RGVN authorities responded swiftly and work to make the village an ODF one started in November 2016. The project was fully funded by the IFCI Ltd, a major public sector unit, under its Healthy Living CSR (Community Social Responsibility) Project for the Rural Communities.

Within 15 weeks, rest of the Burha Mayong households were provided with sturdy, spacious, high-quality and aesthetically pleasing sanitary toilets. Thus the village has become a 100 per cent ODF one, said Dr Mumtaza.

In addition, she said a three-unit boys' urinal was also built for the local high school.

The Lions Club of Narangi has by this time donated sewing machines, books, fans and yarn to the people of the Burha Mayong village.

It has built a basic common facility centre, with a toilet, for the Mahila Samity members to carry out their weaving and other activities. Handlooms and cotton yarn have also been provided to the members of the Mahila Samity by the Club.

Besides, it has built toilets for girl students in the local Government school. The Club has also provided various basic facilities for the benefit of the local students, said Dr Mumtaza, adding, awareness generation programmes on issues like land ownership rights, literacy etc have also been held by the Club among the people of the village.

It needs mention here that the RGVN was promoted by the IFCI Ltd, IDBI Ltd, NABARD and Tata Social Welfare Trust as a socio-economic development organisation in 1990.

Under the Healthy Living CSR Project for Rural Communities, funded by the IFCI Ltd, the Rashtriya Gramin Vikash Nidhi (RGVN) has so far provided 380 sanitary toilets, five solar-powered drinking water supply systems and solar lights and fans to two schools and three community centres spread across six villages in Marigaon and Kamrup districts of the State.

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