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March 31, 2020
In western Odisha, the delivery of 800 solar lanterns and sanitation facilities unlocks opportunities for locals
The Swachh Bharat Mission selected eight villages in the eastern part of the Indian state of Odisha to have safe sanitation systems installed. Financial Inclusion Improves Sanitation & Health (FINISH) Society, a well-known NGO involved in sanitation, hygiene and solid liquid waste management practices in India, provided technical assistance to build over 800 toilets and bathrooms and provide piped water.
In order to make it a sustainable practice, water pipelines and overhead water tanks have also been erected to link the households, toilets and kitchens.
From interviews with villagers it came out how only one village, Badagarh, gets power supply directly from the Odisha Power Generation Corporation (OGPC), while the remaining seven are served by the less reliable Odisha State Electricity Board (OSEB).
Once the sun sets, due to low-voltage power supply, bulbs and other appliances stop working. All seven villages are forced to depend on an unstable power supply, meaning that villagers can go without light for three to four hours a day.
Ahilya Pradhan, a housewife and farmer, has been using the toilet and solar light for over three months and sees enormous benefits from it, including time saving and improved health.
For Ahilya and her family, visits to the doctor have reduced significantly. And the dangers that lurk in the forest area where they used to go for their personal needs are now a vestige of the past, thanks to the solar light. Moreover, the light allows her children to study without being interrupted by power outages.
Initially, Ahilya’s husband Suresh was opposed to the construction because he had sold his agricultural land to the OPGC to provide for the marriage of his four daughters.
The family found itself without the wherewithal to buy construction material to build a bathroom, until FINISH Society, OPGC, and Signify Foundation stepped in, changing their lives.
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