Pondy civic official uses novel method to persuade residents

Commissioner of Uzhavarkarai Municipality here visited each house in Koundanpalayam village today and persuaded the residents to expedite construction of toilets in their homes, by reportedly touching their feet.
Municipal Commissioner M S Ramesh visited residents, who had not utilised 50 per cent of the total subsidy of Rs 20,000 given to them to construct toilets before October 2, and touched their feet in a bid to persuade them to build the toilets without further loss of time.
"I will visit your house again in the next three to four days to ascertain whether they have expedite the work to get the toilets ready," he told them.

Puducherry Administration has set October 2 as the deadline for the Union Territory to emerge as "open defecation free."
Later, Ramesh told reporters that he had resorted to this novel method to urge residents to speed up construction of toilets.
Around 470 out of the total 952 houses in Koundanpalayam village are yet to construct the toilets although they had been handed the first instalment of the subsidy.
"With the deadline for achieving cent percent coverage of households under toilet scheme approaching fast, the municipality has adopted persuasive tactics and prepares the residents psychologically to respond to the scheme," he said.

The residents promised him that they would take immediate steps to respond to the scheme, he added.