Women clean up Laxminarayanpur village. Telegraph picture

Kendrapara, June 7: Residents, mostly homemakers, of a highway-side village recently cleaned up their locality when they realised unhygienic conditions could encourage the spread of dengue.

The village pond, which was full of weeds and dirt, now wears a clean look. The road has been made dirt-free and there are no signs of potholes. The week-long drive has reaped the desired results.

Without waiting for the panchayati raj body and block administration to act, the local residents, mostly homemakers, in a show of community preparedness, have managed to restore sanitation and hygiene at Laxminarayanpur.

“The plan to keep the village clean was mooted during a recent meeting held to create awareness on dengue. People realised that the lack of cleanliness was the root cause of spurt of diseases. They resolved to work together to turn the village into a healthy place,” said Laxminarayanpur sarpanch Mahendra Singh.

“The local block development and panchayat office had come forward to assist the enthusiastic villagers, but the motivated residents did not want any outside help,” said Narottam Behera, Derabish block development officer.

“We all knew that the village environs had turned unhealthy. There was garbage and waste all around the village. The village pond was not in good shape and it was full of vegetation,” said Ritanjali Singh, an anganwadi worker.

Though the panchayat used to carry out periodic sanitation work, the villagers were not in the habit of keeping the village clean. They used to dump garbage by the roadside and all the local residents were responsible for the mess. But, the possibility of a dengue strike brought a sea-change in the villagers’ mindset.

“Initially, some people were hesitant to get involved in the work. Not many people turned up when the drive was launched. After a couple of days, better sense prevailed among most of the villagers. There was enthusiastic participation from every household later. As the drive went on, women took centre stage and spearheaded the cleanliness drive,” said Sabita Behera, a homemaker.

“The homemakers here have resolved to carry out the exercise once every fortnight. The male family members were hesitant about women stepping out of houses to do such work. But now, they are willing to assist us,” Behera said.