Where there is a will, there is a way. The saying was proved by a Chhattisgarh village where people launched a hectic campaign to make it open-defecation free (ODF) in just three months.

Ninwa gram panchayat in Raipur has become the first village in the district to become ODF. “It was a joint effort of the villagers that brought the difference,” village sarpanch (head) Girendra Sahu said. The villagers took the Swachh Bharat Mission as a challenge and achieved the target of becoming ODF is just three months, he added.

The village has 350 houses, with a population of over 2,100. In 77 houses, there were already toilets. “I along with panches (village representatives) and group of villagers contacted the remaining 234 houses and convinced them to construct toilets,” Sahu said. The campaign was launched in a planned way and the villagers were informed about the ill-effects of open defecation, he added.

The villagers showedtook the Swachh Bharat Mission as a challenge. They were provided a grant of Rs 12,000 per toilet under the government scheme. “Interestingly, many villagers spent more money and built big toilets with a cost of Rs 40,000-50,000,” the village sarpanch added.

The volunteers of aanganwadi, literacy mission and employment assistants of the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme were also involved in the campaign. Besides toilets, the villagers are now focusing on keeping the areas near hand-pumps, wells and water sources hygienic and clean.