Bhubaneswar: The municipal corporation has decided to conduct awareness activities across the city to sensitise citizens on the ill effects of unscientific management of faecal sludge.

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has drafted a six-month work plan for the purpose. "The work plan was drafted in consultation with our sanitary officials. We will begin with the activities from April and continue till September," said a civic body official.

As part of the plan, the civic body will begin with painting the walls at prominent locations in each of the 67 wards. Local councillors will identify the locations in consultation with the sanitary inspectors. The wall painting will disseminate the message on the importance of managing the faecal sludge in a proper manner.

Next, they will put up large rooftop hoardings at primary locations of the city. This task will begin in April and continue for a month. The target population through the hoardings will be the general public. In order to cover the urban poor, the civic body will hold community meetings in the slums.

"We have decided to cover each and every individual and sensitise them on the faecal sludge because water-borne diseases such a jaundice spread through it. We have already been sensitising people through various media. But this time, we will do it in an intensive manner," the official said.

The corporation will design posters and banners, which will be distributed to the people visiting the civic body's headquarters at Goutam Nagar in the next six months. Special pamphlets will also be designed and distributed to each and every household through daily newspapers.

"Proper management of faecal sludge is very important to avoid health hazards. We are in the process of streamlining the activities for management of faecal sludge through awareness activities as well as our efforts to manage it through our sanitary officials," said mayor Ananta Narayan Jena.

The housing and urban development department had enforced faecal sludge management guidelines in February last year for the urban local bodies that aimed to ensure proper management of the sludge and avoid the occurrence of water-borne diseases born out of faecal contamination.

"It is necessary to manage septage in a proper manner. Various parts of state witnessed outbreak of jaundice in the past because of faecal contamination," said environmentalist Sailabala Padhi.