PANCHAYATI SWARAJ

Second Freedom; when my village becomes self-responsible

SixFreedoms...4Health...4.3Hygiene
4.3 Hygiene
First, the village needs to ensure hygiene with respect to public places, public utilities, production spaces and other common requirements of society. Second, it should promote better hygiene within families and in individuals. Hygiene standards in spiritual/religious contexts are significantly higher in the Indian context; these must be extended effectively into home spaces, manufacturing spaces and public spaces.
Relevance:         A lot of hygiene-related issues can be handled at the community level alone. Success at this ... has a lot to do with the control of diseases and promotion of healthier living. There is an important spinoff though; products made in villages and food served in its eateries must be made according to the best, practical cleanliness standards that can rival those used in the sanctum sanctorum of temples. This has the potential to better the economic success of the commercial ventures emanating from the villages.
Detailed Rationale:         Hygiene will squarely be the responsibility of the village community. External agencies, ... including the government, will only set standards, facilitate and audit. True freedom in hygiene arises when the community takes upon itself the responsibility to improve hygiene in its surroundings. A village can be declared free on this count when certain minimum standards are met as specified by higher authorities. Public hygiene implementation can be vigorously pursued on the basis of the village legislature’s decisions.

As for personal hygiene, though the village community can interfere only to a very limited extent, efforts to promote the same must happen very vigorously. Citizens can definitely be encouraged to do the needful through a variety of creative ways—including direct advice by physicians, health camps and personal mentoring.

There are international hygiene standards defined for production spaces. These relevant standards must be understood and implemented in adequate measure in the production facilities in the villages. The hygiene standards need to be attained and sustained a safe distance above the benchmark so that products from the villages cannot be faulted on this count. The villager must carry this reputation as he visits the city and travels elsewhere.
Success Stories and Action:
(Share examples of villages that have succeeded with this freedom. Click here for feedback.)
As part of its responsibilities, a village must meet the set standards of public hygiene as indicated by external agencies from time to time. All steps related to the management of communicable diseases must be taken up with both effectiveness and speed. The best practices of sanitation must be adopted and implemented efficiently coupled with the best of conservation efforts. The village must define and implement clear rules on what is allowed and what is not acceptable using the powers it is authorized. This will have to do with everything related to open defecating, spitting, waste disposal, garbage, gutters, drains, food making, washing, village water bodies, etc.

As for individual hygiene, it must facilitate education and training. It should also facilitate the process of obtaining tools and facilities (for example, toilets and cleaning materials) that individuals can use to nurture better hygiene standards. It must ensure that the commercial brands operating from the village adhere to higher hygiene standards, thus promoting the brand value of that particular village.

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