The office of the Executive Engineer, PHE Mawkyrwat Division cum Member Secretary, District Swachh Bharat Mission today organized the World Toilet Day celebration at PHE Hall in Mawkyrwat.
South West Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner, Caramai Kharkongor who attended the celebration said that ‘toilet is one of the most important places we visit often in our lives and it is vital in society’. She added that toilets are crucial for the healthy development of people, to provide a healthy living environment for everyone, protect natural resources such as surface water, groundwater, and soil, and provide safety, security, and dignity for people when they defecate or urinate.
She informed that the government of India since the launched of Swachh Bharat Mission in 2014 has prioritized construction of toilets to thousands of households in India by adding that toilets are very important for the health, safety and dignity of women, elderly persons, girls, and children and to protect the environment. She added that before people used to open defecate and this is the root cause of several diseases like diarrhea, fever, dysentery, vomiting and other sanitation related diseases.
Block Development Officer F.B Basan said that next to our dining room toilet is the most important place in our lives and thus it is very important to maintain and keep it clean always.
Speaking on the theme ‘Use and Maintenance of toilets’, R. Nongdhar, SDO PHE Cum-District Coordinator Swachh Bharat, urged participants that celebration of ‘World Toilet Day, 2020’ should not end within the four walls but they should be ambassadors of cleanliness and encourage people to use toilets respectfully. He added that open defecation not only destroy the beauty of the environment but also hamper our own lives since they will pollute the sources or water, will spread diseases and create foul smell.
As part of the World Toilet Day, 2020 celebration several competitions which include Painting & Drawing Competition, Slogan Competition, and Phawar Singing Competition were conducted at District and Block Level.
