Berhampur (Odisha): Over 20 families in Ganjam district have not been given ration supply after a panchayat body decided to stop the benefits from reaching people who were found defecating in open.
According to a decision taken at a panchayat meeting on October 20, the distribution of ration under the public distribution system (PDS) was stopped to over 20 families in last 11 days, Sushant Swain, the sarpanch of Goutami panchayat in Sanakhemundi block, said.
However, Ganjam district collector Vijay Amruta Kunage said, the benefits under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and State Food Security Act (SFSA) to any person should not be curtailed.
If anyone was found defecating in open, particularly on the roadside, the panchayat body will instruct the dealer concerned to stop giving ration to such people for a month, Swain said.
The move is aimed at making people aware of the need to use toilets, he said.
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Around 300 women, all members of a self-help group (SHG), patrol the open spaces in the panchayat from 3 AM to 5 AM and 5 PM to 7 PM to keep vigil on the violators, the sarpanch said.
"If they find anyone defecating in the open, they inform the panchayat. The women do the work voluntarily," he said.