Giridih, March 2: Giridih is poised to become the first and the only district in the state to boast community toilets in its rural pockets.

Under a programme initiated by the water and sanitation department, pay-and-use toilets will come up in five blocks of the district by the end of this fiscal year, that is, this March. The project has been inspired by the pay-and-use concept of sulabh sauchalaya in urban areas.

Officials of the water and sanitation department said that all districts of the state were asked to take up the project, but so far only Giridih took sincere efforts to implement it.

At least six units of community toilets will be constructed in the five rural blocks. Each unit will comprise eight toilets. Of the selected sites, two are in Madhuban of Pirtand. The remaining are two market places — Rajdhanwar Market and Gawah Market — and two religious and tourist destinations — Harihar Dham Mandir premises in Bagoder and Surya Mandir premises in Jamua. Construction work has already started from January.

The total project cost is Rs 2 lakh. While the state government has agreed to provide Rs 1.6 lakh, the remaining amount will have to be borne by the people of the areas where the toilets are coming up.

Villagers will manage the toilets. They will also be authorised to charge money from users. The collected sum will be used for the maintenance of the toilets. The charges have not been fixed yet.