: Lt Governor Kiran Bedi today stressed the need for creating proper and healthy environment so that children would not fall prey to deadly ailments.
Addressing a joint meeting (first of its kind) of leaders of different religions at the 'Inter Faith Prayers for nation building' on the lawns of Raj Nivas on the eve of the 71st Independence Day she unveiled a 10 point action plan for religious leaders.
She said they should propagate through their congregations and other meetings that open defecation should be discouraged.
Lack of toilets and failure to encourage community toilets are causing a threat to the health of the children as open defecation comes to claim toll of young kids, she said.
Bedi said that in Gorakhpur (where over 60 children died in a government hospital) most children suffered because of open defecation and developed serious ailments, including mental diseases and diarrhoea.
She said that adults should encourage construction of toilets and there should also be community toilets.
"Hospitals are not solutions to address the health hazards of the children. The solution lies in clean earth and clean environment", she stressed.
She urged the leaders to encourage the people to ensure sanitation, construction of toilets and use of community toilets.
She felt sorry that alcoholism was playing havoc in large segments of the population and said children born to weak fathers are dwarf and small in physical structure in Puducherry and are also sick.
She said the religious leaders should rein in the people in their ambit and prevent them from being alcoholic.
Stating that she would launch 'prison reforms' in the Central jail here tomorrow in association with several NGOs, the former IPS officer said that already a number of rowdies had been sent to jail as they were found extorting money from land owners, families and other sections of people.
'We will now reform these prisoners through a special programme tomorrow in the central jail', she said.
Leaders from different communities spoke and cultural programmes were also held highlighting 'clean Puducherry and prosperous Puducherry.
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