CHICAGO: “Sahiyaru Abhiyan” set up here in the wake of a clarion call from Indian PM Narendra Modi for Swachh Bharat, is a charitable, tax exempt organization registered in Ahmadabad, Gujarat and is incorporated in the State of Illinois.
For the last five years it has been providing a number of services to residents of tribal areas in India like free ration to needy, health care, clothes and linen for residential schools in the tribal areas, scholarship, distribution of fruits to children and seniors in hospitals, providing blankets and trying to find work for families to make them self supporting.
While these activities are ongoing, “Sahiyaru Abhiyan” has now turned its focus on providing sanitation and water supply to the remote villages. “Sahiyaru Abhiyan” has started providing toilet facilities in a village Bhiloda near Modasa in Gujarat. The work is in progress for one hundred units. An order has been placed for hundred more but the need for this particular village is at least five hundred more.
The team in the US approached Dr Bharatbhai Barai and he expressed his full support for this humanitarian activity. In fact, Bharatbhai helped to secure the help from Government of Gujarat for the amount of Rs 12,000 per toilet. The total cost of a single toilet unit is approximately Rs 16,000. Thus “Sahiyaru Abhiyan” has to come up with Rs 4,000 per unit.
This cost includes a soak pit for each toilet so that the sewage water gets absorbed in the ground. Eventually a centralized sanitary collection and treatment system can be provided. But right now the priority is to serve as many families as rapidly as possible.
It may be noted that water supply to the toilet facilities will be provided by WASMO (Water and Sanitation Management Organization), a unit of Government of Gujarat. R.K.Sama, a retired IFS (Indian Forest Service) officer, will be providing water supply to each house from the resources of WASMO with the help of a team of engineers and volunteers in India.
This way a good set up has been in place for executing this program. An equally devoted team consisting of Arvindbhai Thakkar, Rajanikant Modi, Rameshbhai Thakkar, Rajubhai Chauhan and Rajivbhai Desai is working on the project’s execution and funding from USA. Dr Bharatbhai is an advisor.
Finally, if generous donors in America can provide help of $ 100 per toilet, this humanitarian work can continue and progress rapidly, said Arvind Thakkar.
Surendra Ullal
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