Pune school organises poster competition on World Toilet Day

Aishwarya Deshpande, a std VIII student of DAV Public School, won the first prize in the poster competition organised on the occasion of the World Toilet Day here on Friday. Students of DAV Public School, City International School, Aundh and DES School, Tilak Road, participated in the competition.

City-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), Ecoscan Services Foundation and the Pune Municipal Corporation had organised the poster competition for schoolchildren. The aim was to understand what the children think is needed to address the sanitation issues which they have felt or seen, said training executive of the NGO, Priyanka Patange.

Aishwarya’s painting showed the importance and use of toilets in a rural background. She said, “I was aware of the issue of defecation in the open as my grandmother, who had done social service, had told me about it. She would tell me how it is a bad practice and what should be done to improve the situation.”

The second prize was shared by Akanksha Thakur and Shweta Mishra of DAV Public School. They presented the advantages and disadvantages of using and toilets in rural and urban backgrounds. “Since the schools are closed for the Diwali break, we didn’t get the expected response,” Priyanka said.

Lavanya Takale, Shyamal Kankavade and Yashasvi Prakash of DAV Public School said, “When we decided to participate in the competition, we did a thorough Internet search and learnt about the pathetic state of sanitation in the country, which we were ignorant of. We also spoke to our maidservants about the sanitation facilities at their residence.”
Prem Chandra, a student of City International School said, “We should dedicate one day of our school calendar for cleanliness of the school
toilets and surroundings.”