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A citizen-led sanitation initiative in Pathankot, Punjab, has installed 25 portable public toilets across key market areas through a collaborative model involving local traders' associations. Led by educator and public interest worker Srijal Gupta, the "Shahar Zinda Karo" campaign transfers responsibility for the maintenance of each toilet to the respective market association after installation, promoting community ownership of civic infrastructure. The latest unit has been installed at Gurjeet Market, where a local trader has volunteered to oversee its upkeep. The initiative forms part of the broader #MuskurahatWalaPathankot campaign, which focuses on sanitation, public health and civic participation. Organisers are also preparing a city-wide cleanliness drive next month that will include a volunteer march and the distribution of dustbins to shopkeepers as part of efforts to improve public hygiene across the border district.
A citizen-led sanitation campaign in Pathankot, Punjab, has expanded its public hygiene initiative by installing 25 portable public toilets across major market areas, with the latest facility inaugurated at Gurjeet Market. The initiative, announced in the past week, is being implemented under the "Shahar Zinda Karo" (Bring the City to Life) campaign led by educator and public interest worker Srijal Gupta.
The campaign follows a community-led model under which each portable toilet is installed in collaboration with the local Vyapar Mandal (traders' association) before being formally handed over to market representatives for day-to-day maintenance. At Gurjeet Market, responsibility for maintaining the newly installed unit has been entrusted to the Beopar Mandal, with local trader Pritam Singh volunteering to oversee its upkeep.
According to Gupta, the initiative is intended to improve access to public sanitation facilities in commercial areas while encouraging local communities to take collective responsibility for maintaining civic infrastructure. He said the campaign is based on the principle that improving basic public amenities should be a shared responsibility rather than relying solely on municipal authorities.
The toilet installation programme forms part of the broader #MuskurahatWalaPathankot initiative, which promotes sanitation, public health and community participation through outreach in Hindi, Punjabi and English. Alongside the sanitation drive, the organisation also implemented the Shree Jal Abhiyan during the summer months, distributing oral rehydration salts, cooling beverages and protective caps to outdoor workers, including rickshaw pullers, street vendors and daily wage labourers.
Campaign organisers have also announced the next phase of the initiative. On August 9, ahead of Independence Day celebrations, more than 100 volunteers are expected to participate in a cleanliness march titled "Zinda Kooch", during which 200 dustbins will be distributed to shopkeepers under the theme "Iss 15 August, Kuda Toh Azaadi" (Freedom from Garbage).
Beyond civic initiatives, Gupta is also the founder of Caledonian International School, established in Pathankot in 2017, and curator of TEDxCaledonian, a TED-licensed event scheduled to hold its fourth edition on October 10
Source - PTI
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