Institute of Rural Management, Anand
Rural Development(RD)
VFS Village
Submitted to-
Prof. H.S.Shylendra
Submitted by-
Pallavi S B - P44155
Mallika B - P44087
Gowthami N - P44019
Muradi Village Introduction
Muradi is a thriving village in Yelburga Taluk, Koppal District, Karnataka. It is
located 33 kilometres north of the district headquarters in Koppal, 16 kilometres from
Yelburga, and 374 kilometres from the state capital, Bengaluru. Geographically, it is
located at 15.8767853 latitude and 75.95213 longitude.
The total area of Muradi is 4,984.20 acres, of which 4,826.08 acres is cultivated land.
Neighbouring villages are Talikeri, Bandi, and Mangalur. The major towns around are
Gajendragarh, Ilkal, and Hungund. The nearest highway is NH-67, and public
transport is well facilitated by frequent bus services, local auto rickshaws, and even
bullock carts. Most of the families have cycles, two-wheelers, or four-wheelers for
intra-village and nearby commutes.
Muradi has a rich history. Its name originates from the shifts in settlement due to
plague outbreaks in the 16th century, which compelled the inhabitants to move
multiple times. Historically, it was part of the Hyderabad Karnataka region under
Nizam rule until 1948, experiencing the turmoil of the Razakar movement. Post-
independence, the village transitioned from a system of local landlords (Desaigitti) to
more structured governance.
Sanitation and Hygiene in Muradi:
Issues related to sanitation are a significant issue in Muradi. Though there have been
efforts by Gram Panchayat, such as providing tractors to collect waste and mandating
the construction of toilets in homes, a lot still needs to be done:
Open Defecation and Toilet Usage: In many villages, open defecation is preferred
by people despite government initiatives for toilet building. In most places, toilets
under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan are found locked or unused. The reasons include a lack
of maintenance, poor supply of water, and cultural unacceptability of indoor
sanitation practices.
Waste Management: Waste collection is collected by the Gram Panchayat using a
designated tractor. However, it was discussed that villagers are still complaining over
no permanent driver assigned for the tractor, hence creating a pattern of waste
collection to be inconsistent at times. Water from households that comes from
domestic usage goes onto village streets, causing a rather unhealthy condition since
it's unclean and unpurified.
Health and Hygiene Programs: A sub-health centre exists in the village, which
regularly distributes generic-free medicines and conducts immunization programs
under the guidance of a Primary Health Communicator Officer. Immunization
programs are basically for the kids so that they get immunized against diseases in
time. For hospitalisation, people approach the Bevoor Primary Health Centre, which
is 5 kilo-meters away.
Awareness and Education: The villagers have been educated with regards to
sanitation practices and the necessity of using toilets. However, people cannot change
their long-standing habits and orientations overnight.
Despite the above drawbacks, there is a potential for improvement in the village
through waste management practice, infrastructure development, and behavioural
change programs.
Conventional consequences of poor sanitation, some potential health hazards can
be derivable:
Waste water on Roads: Openly letting waste water on the roads provides a breeding
ground for mosquitoes and other pests. It could result in spreading diseases such as
malaria, dengue, and other vector-borne diseases.
Open Defecation: The wide spread practice of open defecation has a tendency to
make diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera, and typhoid fever, which are induced from
the contamination of water and soil. These diseases have a high-risk factor among
children and senior citizens.
Lack of Waste Management: Inconsistent waste collection and the resultant piling
of garbage create an unsanitary environment. Such conditions facilitate the
proliferation of diseases such as gastrointestinal infections, skin infections, and
respiratory problems due to the exposure to decomposing organic waste.
Water-borne Diseases: Since there is no proper sanitation facility and the water
sources are likely to be contaminated, villagers may be exposed to hepatitis A, E coli
infections, and parasitic diseases such as amoebiasis.
Improving sanitation and health outcomes in Muradi village requires a holistic
approach that integrates infrastructure development, community engagement, and
sustained behaviour change. Studies have found that the construction of toilets under
schemes such as Swachh Bharat Mission improves access greatly, but usage depends
on maintenance and cultural acceptance (Jindal et al., 2021). The introduction of low-
cost decentralized waste treatment systems can address the issue of untreated waste
water on roads while ensuring constructed toilets remain functional and accessible
(World Bank, 2020).
Community-led activities, such as CLTS, enable villagers to collectively become
'open defecation free'. The participatory approach has worked particularly well in
reducing faecal-oral disease transmission in rural South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa
(Kar & Chambers, 2008). Supporting this with appropriate social marketing activity
that marks local traditional relevance could illustrate the health and dignity benefits of
sanitation. Such interventions have proven to result in behavioural changes, especially
in Spears' (2013) work on sanitation in India.
Educating people about health matters generally enhances sanitation issues. For
example, there is a randomized controlled trial conducted in Kenya which showed
that hand washing education reduced gastrointestinal infections by about nearly 47%
(Pickering et al., 2019). Similar awareness programs for Muradi, in which the
connection of this bad sanitation with diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera, and typhoid
would be made, will help them understand how hygiene is important. Train local
health workers, like ASHAs, to monitor sanitation-linked diseases in a timely manner
(WHO, 2020).
Hygiene improvement is integral with access to clean water. Access to piped water for
all households under the Jal Jeevan Mission reduces dependence on unsafe sources of
water, thereby decreasing water-borne diseases (Govt. of India, 2020). Interim access
to safe water can be further achieved through encouraging rainwater harvesting
systems and accessible Reverse Osmosis (RO) water units (World Health
Organization, 2017).
Economic incentives play a huge role in sanitation. Conditional cash transfers have
been successful in promoting toilet construction and usage among families (Gertler et
al., 2012). Microfinance opportunities for sanitation entrepreneurs can establish local
enterprises for hygiene infrastructure maintenance (Water.org, 2020). Subsidized
health care for illnesses caused by poor sanitation can also help alleviate the economic
burden of preventable illnesses, motivating villagers to improve their sanitation
practices (USAID, 2018).
A holistic approach combining infrastructure, education, governance, and economic
support, grounded in Muradi's cultural and social context, can enhance sanitation
practices and health outcomes. With consistent efforts, Muradi can set an example of
how rural communities can achieve cleaner and healthier living environments through
strategic interventions (UNICEF India, 2020).
References:
https://journals.lww.com/ijmr/abstract/2009/29030/
study_of_water_supply___sanitation_practices_in.5.aspx
https://jaljeevanmission.gov.in/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4630767/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969719353586
https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/articles/conference_contribution/
The_genesis_of_ODF_Koppal_in_India_contextualising_leadership_and_innovations
_to_achieve_sanitation_at_scale/9593066?file=17233226
