The Salem Corporation is going all out to popularise the scheme for construction of individual toilets with government subsidy in all households in the city under the Clean India Mission with the objective of doing away with open defecation.

The corporation has launched a mobile campaign vehicle with a replica of individual toilet for creating awareness among the city residents on this programme. R. Sadheesh, Corporation Commissioner, flagged off the vehicle on Wednesday.

Mr. Sadheesh said that people can construct individual toilets at an outlay of Rs. 12,000, for which government extended a subsidy of Rs. 8,000. The main objective of the corporation is to do-away with the open-defecation in the city limits with the active cooperation of the public.

Besides the replica of the individual toilet, flex boards explaining the salient features of the Clean India Mission programme, the importance and advantages of individual toilets and the harmful effects of open defecation have been displayed prominently on the campaign vehicle. The vehicle will cover different parts of the city from dawn-to-dusk.

Mr. Sadheesh said that the corporation has already pressed into service more than 30 field staff to create awareness about the project. Field workers led by a coordinator and four supervisors will be visiting different wards daily and convince and motivate the people to construct individual toilets with subsidy. The corporation has also taken special steps for the distribution of applications to the people for the construction of individual toilets. People can collect the applications from the main office and from the zonal offices, and also from the field staff under the Clean India Mission. The filled-up applications could be handed over to the field staff themselves.

The Commissioner also called upon the people who had already constructed toilets to construct septic tank for flushing out the waste water and human excreta.

A. Ashok and G. Kamaraj, corporation executive engineers, and V. Prabhakaran, City Health Officer, were present on the occasion.

Women passengers waiting at the Kamarajar Bus Stand here need not use public toilets with inadequate facilities any more, for the Dindigul Corporation has installed two toilets with all facilities to meet their entire needs, especially related to menstrual hygiene.

Inaugurating the ‘Sunidhi toilets’ here on Wednesday, Collector T.G. Vinay said that the existing toilets at the bus stand and along highways lacked women-friendly facilities. The new toilets would also protect their privacy with dignity.

The toilets were installed under Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Ten toilets had been sanctioned as a pilot project - seven for Dindigul and three for Madurai Corporations. The low-cost prefabricated structure would have a western toilet, Indian toilet, wash basin, sanitary napkin vending machine, napkin incinerator, mirror and soap. The Corporation would maintain them.

Two toilets had been installed at the east and west end of the bus stand. More such facilities would come up near Amma Canteen at flower market, Siluvathur tank area, near Mochaikottai Vinayagar Temple, Mettupatti church area and 108 Vinayagar Temple campus near Gopalasamudram tank. Based on successthe model would be replicated in other areas, the Collector added.

Technical staff said the superstructure, made of cost-effective ferro-cement technology, could be installed in three to four hours. The slabs were fabricated using moulds and drilled together and brought to the location for installation. Fixing toilets, other equipment, basin and plumbing work were done on the spot. Top priority was given for hand washing as it could reduce 45% of sanitation- related diseases. The cost of each toilet was Rs. 75,000.

If one inserted a Rs. 5 coin, the sanitary napkin vending machine would dispense one. Around 30 napkins had been kept in the machine. The incinerator would reduce the used napkin into five grams of ash.

The machine used minimal electricity and the smoke would pass through a chimney.