Though heads of civic bodies talk much about personal hygiene of the people but unfortunately the functioning of public latrines and open urinating at public places are the two major concerns which have gone unnoticed in recent months. Unfortunately municipal corporations in the twin capital cities-Srinagar and Jammu have failed to maintain the latrines built by it over the period of years and implement a blanket ban on open urinating in public places. Had the top civic bodies of the twin capital cities taken care of these two basic issues of public concern, the issues of personal hygiene won’t have been as huge as they are now in the present scenario. Focus on sweeping but no focus on proper maintenance of the public latrines and ban on open urinating at public places by the civic bodies is cities and towns across Jammu & Kashmir deserves immediate attention and intervention of the government. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks much about the measures his government has taken to build public latrines to make India a defecation free country but his dream of making every state and union territory of India is defecation free is yet to come true. The defunct public latrines and open urinating at public places in cities and towns of Jammu & Kashmir show that dream of defecation free Jammu and Kashmir is yet to come true.
Instead of poking their nose into controversial decisions of the government, the heads of municipal bodies in twin capital cities and major towns of Jammu & Kashmir could have raised the standards of public health to the extent of neutralizing the threats of any epidemic or endemic in their respective areas of jurisdictions but unfortunately they speak more and do little to raise the standards of public health in their areas of jurisdictions. Not words but actions on ground alone can address the public health concerns of the people in every street and every locality across Jammu & Kashmir.
Undoubtedly the idea of making a country , a state, a city, a town and a village defecation free is laudable but the challenge of translating this idea into a reality demands implementation and execution of the Prime Minister’s announcements on ground not only in Jammu & Kashmir but also in other parts of the country. Though heads of municipal bodies in twin capital cities and major towns of Jammu & Kashmir could have raised the standards of public health to the extent of neutralizing the threats of any epidemic or endemic in their respective areas of jurisdictions long back but unfortunately they speak more and do little to raise the standards of public health in their areas of jurisdictions. Not word but actions on ground alone can address the public heath concerns of the people in every street and every locality across Jammu & Kashmir.
