Now, Mayor 'joins' the dabba gang

INDORE: Mayor Malini Gaud joined the dabba-gang early morning on Wednesday to encourage the team for its work.
The mayor was accompanied by other senior officials of the civic body, including commissioner Manish Singh. They together inspected several areas of the city.
"I appreciate the efforts of people especially, women, who wake up early morning in this cold weather, only to make their city open defecation free," Gaud said.
The mayor also visited areas of the city where the civic body has constructed toilets and met the residents of those areas.
"Women of the areas where toilets have been constructed are happy since they are not compelled to go in open for nature's call. Now, they don't feel ashamed and unsafe because they are using the public toilets and the toilets constructed at their homes," she said. Along the lines of 'roko-toko', Indore municipal corporation (IMC) has come up with the concept of 'dabba-gang' to curb open defecation. The concept of dabba-gang is based on the successful 'vanar sena' that played a major role in making rural areas of Indore open defecation free. Unlike the vanar sena that would hold a whistle in their hand and would blow the whistle whenever they would find someone defecating in the open, the dabba-gang would have dabba in their hand and they would make noise through them until the person defecating in open will leave.
"We are coming up with the new concepts and ideas that involve local community, we cannot make the city open defecation free without their participation" said Singh. IMC's roko-toko team has been making inspection in the city for past few days.
It is a fortnight drive to encourage more and more people to quit the practice of open defecation and help clean the city. IMC has planned to declare the city open-defecation free (ODF) by December 15.