RAJSHAHI: Speakers at a discussion here yesterday said there should be adequate measures for providing sanitation and safe drinking water facilities for the poor and marginalised village people to bring them out of various diseases, reports BSS. They viewed adequate safe water coupled with sanitation is very vital as many of them suffer from various intestinal diseases due to lack of water and sanitation. The observations came at a roundtable on WASH situation with media personalities held at its upazila complex hall room. VERC-Durgapur organised the meeting in association with its project titled "Promoting safe water and sanitation access and hygiene motivation among rural poor in Durgapur Upazila, Rajshahi" and WaterAid. Ms Aktarunnahar, upazila nirbahi officer, addressed the discussion as chief guest while ATM Tozammel Haque, Assistant Engineer of DPHE, spoke as focal person with Yakub Hossain, Deputy Executive Director of VERC, in the chair.
Upazila Health and Family Welfare Officer Dr Dewan Nazmul Alam, officer-in-charge of Durgapur police station Parimal Kumar Chakraverty, VERC Regional Coordinator Tapan Kumar Shaha, Director (Water and Technology) Masud Hassan and Director (Microcredit) Azmal Hossain also spoke. During his keynote presentation, Ahmed Omar Faruk, project manager of VERC, said the WASH programme provides hygiene access to sanitation to 43578 people, safe water options to 19584 people and hygiene education to 63171 people in all seven unions of the upazila.
The community people were imparted leadership and hygiene promotion training to strengthen
their capacity. They were made responsible for identifying ultra poor households in their communities that they need.
As a whole, the project intends to contribute to improve human well being and dignity of disadvantaged people through WaSH access. Poor, excluded, disadvantaged and vulnerable population was given preference in terms of providing specific water supply and sanitation services.
Policy-makers, local governments and service agencies are being sensitized and responded effectively in promotion of sustainable water supply, sanitation and hygiene Yakub Hossain said in his speech the VERC was putting out the best of its efforts by implementing water and sanitation programme in the area. The
WatSan activities are being
carried out in terms of promotion of community latrines and supply
water connection for safe water use promotion with limited hygiene education for awareness rising.
He viewed that concerted effort of all quarters particularly the community people side by side with the government efforts to attain total sanitation and safe water coverage.
Terming the schoolboys and girls as the most vulnerable to worm infection, he called for making them aware about health hygiene and using sanitary latrine together with proper hand washing before taking every meal.
Success of total hygienic sanitation programme depends on its sustainability and the NGOs, members of civil society and affluent people should take the responsibility of making
the successes of the campaign sustainable.