Over six decades before Prime Minister Narendra Modi conceived the idea of Swachh Bharat, Sarvodaya activist Maddi Narayana Reddy (1906-1988) introduced a similar programme at Sarvail, a far-flung village here.
It began with a majority of 2,000 residents of Sarvail from the weaker sections – Scheduled Castes, Tribes and the Backward Classes – who had little knowledge of maintaining hygiene, due to poverty and illiteracy.
Since most villagers kept falling sick quite often, Mr. Narayana Reddy, a landlord who donated most part of his land to the poor and to educational institutions following a call by Vinoba Bhave, directed his energies on improving sanitation since it affected productivity. Majority of them were labourers, small and marginal farmers and some dependent on hereditary occupations to eke out their livelihood.
Boya Lakshmaiah (86), a Dalit and Sarvodaya member, recalled Mr. Reddy appointing two persons to visit every house in the village to monitor cleanliness twice a day without fail. Poverty and illiteracy meant a ‘No’ to daily baths or wearing washed clothes. Mr. Lakshmaiah said that two persons used to visit every residence to check whether the villagers were following the guidelines issued or not.
He instructed barbers to visit every house and give people a haircut and shave, regularly, apart from motivating teams of villagers to clean the village roads. Each team used to sweep the roads once a month to maintain hygiene in and around the village. Within no time, villagers were surprised at the results due to the collective endeavour. They were surprised by the results since the health condition of villagers improved, in a largely fluoride-affected district like Nalgonda.
Mr. Lakshmaiah, who closely worked with Mr. Reddy, said those found violating the guidelines were made to apologise in public, at the Gram Panchayat.
