‘Mission Nirmal Bangla’: Panchayat dept holds awareness meet for stakeholders

Kolkata: For effective implementation of its sanitation programme ‘Mission Nirmal Bangla’, the Panchayats and Rural Development (P&RD) has decided to make the stakeholders more aware of sanitation issues.

The department is conducting district-wise meetings for effecting a behavioural change among those who are still reluctant in keeping the surroundings neat and clean.

Recently, senior officials of the P&RD department, in presence of minister in-charge Pradip Mazumdar and secretary P Ulaganathan, Santosha GR, managing director of Mission Nirmal Bangla and others, held a review meeting at Durgapur involving three districts — East Burdwan, West Burdwan and Bankura.

Officials right from the level of District Magistrate to the Panchayat Pradhans, including Block Development Officers, Sabhadipatis, who attended the meeting, were asked about the problems they are facing in maintaining cleanliness and hygiene.

Some of the stakeholders pointed out the lack of infrastructure for addressing the issues.

“Our aim was to convince them of their own responsibility for proper implementation of sanitation which is of prime importance for a disease-free environment,” said a P&RD department official.

The stakeholders who had performed well were felicitated at the programme. On Wednesday, a similar evaluation meeting was held at Berhampore in Murshidabad which was attended by the Minister of State for P&RD department, Becharam Manna, MLAs from the district and all other stakeholders.