open defecation free

The charismatic leadership and zeal of Dr Satyapal Singh Meena is making Rajasthan villages self-sufficient in sustainability, hygiene, and water conservation.

"When I tried to convince the villagers about toilets, sometimes they would scoff and scorn at me for being ‘jobless’. Often men would misbehave and taunt as well."

Other than this, his organisation is installing unique, innovative toilets in rural India. Installed at 50 places, these toilets are made of fiberglass discarded by the windmill industry -- killing two birds with one stone. Find out how.

SHRI’s sanitation units have toilets which are free for users and the facilities can purify about 1000 litres in an hour! The villagers are being supplied this water at 50 paise per litre!

“We do not just build toilets. We teach the women to build and maintain their own toilets. So that, after they master these construction skills, they can earn a living from it by building toilets for others." #WorldToiletDay #Sanitation #ImpactThatMatters

Over 16,000 community soak pits built. Houses in all 263 villages have individual toilets. Over 1 lakh trees planted across 400 acres. And the entire district is open-drainage free, which means no open sewerage anywhere! #ImpactThatMatters #IAS #Governance

Women in these groups have taken it upon themselves to spread the message of sanitation. They speak about the hazards of open defecation and convince households to construct and use toilets.

“It took him two days to dig the pits, and afterwards he fell ill. Now, we have decided to complete the construction within a week."

It was not just the construction of these toilets that made him a hero but his patience and perseverance in persuading the villagers, who seemed to be against it.

A 2012 batch IAS officer, Dharma Reddy took charge as the collector of Medak in March this year. Soon after he was posted, he established direct contact with the people of his district.