Tamil Nadu is among the foremost states in the country to have established solid waste management (SWM) systems with collection, segregation and waste disposal facilities in all its 12,524 village panchayats. The southern state has also engaged 66,025 motivators (Thooimai Kaavalars) for door to door collection of waste, segregation into bio-degradable and non bio-degradable and safe disposal of the same.

Intricate threadwork, motifs and vibrant colours describe the handloom weaves of Odisha that have gained national and international acclaim. Of these the Sambalpuri sarees handloom which is a centuries old traditional family occupation that has all members of a family working together, comes from Sonepur district also called Subarnapur district of the Sambalpur belt of the state. The weaving skill of these cottage industries has been passed down for generations, making it a prized handloom.

Life was a struggle for Chinta Devi (80+) who suffered from some form of mental illness. As if the strains of having to make ends meet through farming activities were not enough, she had been going out to defecate in the open for as long as she could remember. It was a practice followed for generations – representing immense challenges for the elderly, particularly during monsoons and winters. She lived with her widowed daughter-in-law Rajavanti Devi (wife of late Biswamohan Singh) and four grandsons in Bandichapra Village (Baligaw panchayat, Parsa Block) in Saran district of Bihar. About 40 households lived in that village, all of who did not own toilets.

Government Senior Secondary School in Makha of East Sikkim has started a new initiative titled – Mero Khata translated My Copy, with a view to reducing paper wastage on account of unnecessary margins.The initiative is a brain child of school teacher Lomas Dhungel, (Founder Cum Developer, Hariyo Makha) under whose leadership the Hariyo Makha – Sikkim against Pollution is being led in the school.

Chhattisgarh which was declared open defecation free (ODF) in October 2017 has adopted a comprehensive plan, tailored to the needs of the local communities to sustain its ODF status. Among its activities are beautification of former open defecation spots with planting of Tulsi and Peepal saplings which are considered holy; and promoting the use of rich manure from pits that are emptied. The move is in anticipation of the single and twin pits that will be ready for emptying in due course. The state which is made up of 27 districts, 10971 Gram Panchayats, 19567 villages and 44,29,138 rural households is preparing people for this exercise, encouraging them to use the manure for their kitchen gardens.