Clean Ambassador from Tavvanipalem

Story of a dedicated Clap Mitra Ms Gottivada Laxmi from Tavvanipalem Gram Panchayat of Sabbavaram Mandal.

Ms. Gattivadi Laxmi is a Clap Mitra (Health & Sanitation Worker) in Tavvanipalem Gram Panchayat of Sabbavaram Mandal of Anakapalli District. 42 year old Laxmi has been providing her dedicated services to the Gram Panchayat for the past 4 years. She believes that the entire village needs to be kept as clean as her home - it is this philosophy that drives her to work each morning at 4am to begin with door to door waste collection. She actively supports the running of Sampada Centre which is the village’s Solid Waste Processing Facility. Laxmi not only focuses on door to door collection of waste but also in keeping the canals and public spaces clean.

Other than discharging her daily duties diligently, she focuses on awareness generation about waste segregation, ‘Friday Dry Day’ Campaign (removal of water stagnation to prevent mosquitoes), curtailing open defecation amongst others. By her own initiative, she visits the local school and Anganwadi centre to teach children the importance of cleanliness and toilet usage.

Be it any event in the village, Laxmi is the first one to be at the venue to keep the premises clean for it and clean up post the event. She has been voluntarily cleaning the village premises before each festival without any orders or instructions from higher ups. And the heartening outcome of her selfless work is the villagers’ affection for her. They gift her new clothes on festivals and send a portion of their fresh harvest to her to show their adulation for her work. More than a sanitation worker, Laxmi is now an integral part of Tavvanipalem Villages’ social fabric.

Ms Laxmi is a true example of dedication to duty, she is a breadwinner for her family and an inspiration for one and all.