APD Foundation provides free toilets to BPL families in Kadeshwalya grama panchayat

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, October 24, 2024: The Anti-Pollution Drive Foundation (APDF), based in Mangalore, handed over free toilets to nine Below Poverty Line (BPL) families in Kadeshwalya Grama Panchayat, Bantwal Taluk. The endowment ceremony took place at the local Grama Panchayat office on Tuesday, October 22 , with the presence of Panchayat President Bharathi S. Rao, Vice President Suresh Kannottu, Panchayat Development Officer Sunil Kumar, office staff Honnappa Poojary, construction contractor Kusappa Poojary, Bhaskar Arasa, Public Relations Coordinator, and Geetha Surya, Project Coordinator of APD Foundation and the beneficiaries. Two additional toilets are under construction and will be completed soon.

Each toilet, costing nearly Rs. 50,000, was built under APDF’s Prati Manege Sauchalaya (PRMS) project, which aims to provide sanitation facilities to 100 BPL families in Dakshina Kannada district by the end of the current financial year (March 31, 2025). APDF secured Rs. 10 lakh in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funding from Alkraft Thermotechnologies Pvt. Ltd., Chennai, and the Dr. PA Ibrahim Foundation, Kozhikode, after Kadeshwalya Grama Panchayat requested help in February 2024 for 11 families lacking sufficient funds.

The PRMS project, launched on March 12, 2019, has already delivered free toilets to 11 families. With the current phase adding 11 more, APDF will have completed 22 toilets. Although Dakshina Kannada is officially an Open Defecation Free (ODF) district, several small pockets still lack proper sanitation. APDF is working closely with local Gram Panchayats to address these gaps. "Toilets are essential for every family, promoting dignity and hygiene, especially for women and children. We call upon sponsors to support our mission of reaching 100 families by next year," said Abdullah A. Rehman, Founder and CEO of APDF.