Bhubaneswar: With M Mathivathnan, Principal Secretary Urban Development at the hlem, Odisha has won three National awards in the prestigious Annual India Sanitation Coalition (ISC)-FICCI Sanitation Awards 2022 which were announced on Wednesday at the awards function held at New Delhi.
Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) was awarded with the “Best Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (FSSM) Model – Urban,” and Ms. Sasmita Barik, a Swachha Sathi from Bhadrak Municipality was awarded with the “Women Changemaker in Sanitation” Award. In addition, Jajpur district was awarded for “Best Skilling Initiative in Sanitation.”
The ISC-FICCI Awards Ceremony and Conclave is an annual national event celebrating leaders, rising stars and organisations who are driving growth in the sanitation value chain for achieving a “cleaner, healthier, safer, happier and a gender-equal India.”
The Housing &Urban Development Department (H&UDD), has been winning awards under various categories in the annual ISC-FICCI Awards Ceremony since 2019.
The award for Bhubaneswar was received by BMC Mayor Sulochana Das in the event along with team members.
The “Women Change maker in Sanitation” Award was received by Sasmita Barik along with Additional Secretary and Additional Mission Director SBM (Urban) H&UDD, Durgesh Nandini Sahoo. Both the awards are a recognition for the Odisha model of decentralised and community led sanitation.
BMC was awarded for its comprehensive implementation of FSSM across the value chain along with building an enabling environment by engaging multiple stakeholders and executing wide-ranging interventions in the Capital city.
The FSSM model has focused on community-led demand generation, strong enforcement of regulations against illegal sludge disposal, innovative ways of cesspool vehicle service delivery, optimum utilisation of the Septage Treatment Plants (SeTPs) and city-wide communication campaign etc.
Twenty-six-year-old Sasmita Barik, a Swachha Sathi from Bhadrak was awarded for her active leadership and proactiveness in keeping the city clean and hygienic by spreading awareness among households on both Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (FSSM) and Solid Waste Management (SWM) and motivating citizens to adopt appropriate sanitation practices.
Odisha has been implementing a unique model of decentralised waste management with community partnership as a 5T initiative which has been lauded across various platforms.