IEC

After 1,000 kms on the road crossing three states, organizers reveal exciting new formats for the last three stops of the Yatra

Sewagram, Maharashtra (Oct 3-5)

Women folk in Gorakhpur village

The first thing that struck me when I reached the venue of the Nirmal Bharat Yatra in Indore, Madhya Pradesh was the vibrant colours that brought the entire event to life, even before visitors started streaming in.

As usual we were divided into various groups and sent to schools to educate the students about sanitation and hygiene,which included talking about open defection, hand washing and menstrual hygiene management.

The author with an infant in village Sangod, Kota

As the sanitation and hygiene campaign (Nirmal Bharat Yatra) moved from Maharastra to Madhya Pradesh, our halt on the outskirts of Indore brought us face-to-face with grim realities. Two schools that I visited had structures that in some government file were passed off as toilets.

This film humorously depicts the day to day hurdles that the poor have to overcome  to meet their basic needs such as water and sanitation and the circumstances that force them to resort to poor sanitation related behaviour such as open defecation.

Teachers play a major role in the development of our society. They inspire, motivate and pass on knowledge. To gain knowledge they go for various trainings. It’s very difficult to find teachers who know that there is a place for tradition but there is also a place for new ways, new ideas, new systems, and new approaches. But the teachers in Indore proved us wrong.

September 30th - The skies poured out the day we were to leave for Nagpur. The morning shower felt like a blessing. Thankful, but sceptical of the weather, our biggest concern was whether the rains would follow us. In Nagpur, the moment we stepped out the heat hit us. Clear skies welcomed us and for that we were grateful.

Since its inception in 1992, CIVIC’s (Citizens’ Voluntary Initiative for the City) work has revolved around urban issues, especially realizing social equity in the growth of Bangalore through the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act (or the Nagarapalika Act, an Act under the Constitution of India that defines how cities/towns in India need to b