The Hindu       18.03.2016 

‘Capacity building helped city stand out’

Jacques Edward Tiberghen of Water Aid studying the improvement in the conditions in Visakhapatnam earning it fifth rank in Swachh Bharat Survekshan and eighth in Smart City Challenge had a meeting with stakeholders on Thursday.

He made a brief presentation on the visits he made in the city.

Representatives of various NGOs and GVMC employees said it was capacity building taken up with the UK-based Water and Sanitation for Urban Poor Advisory that made the improvement possible. Awareness on construction of toilets, ramps for the differently-abled, the facilities for the aged and women required, meeting water requirement, tackling leaks etc was created.

Additional Commissioner (General) G.V.V.S. Murthy said against a target of 16,000 toilets at households, 13,000 were grounded and 72 public toilets restored. Fresh Water Action Network South Asia Murali Ramisetty, Lakshmi Narasimha Reddy, US AID Pramod Dabrase, WSUP Project Manager Uday Singh Gautam, Vikasadhatri co-founder Gali Aruna, Durgapuram sarpanch Kantha Rao, SLF president K. Lakshmi, Janmabhoomi-Maa Vuru Committee president Ramani, Dr. K. Prabhakar and Public Health officials participated.