PM Modi lauds residents for efforts to make India ODF
PM Modi in today's Mann Ki Baat hailed the efforts of people towards making India an open defecation free (ODF) country. He praised the inhabitants of Vijayanagaram and Bijnour where residents came together under the Jan Bhagyadari scheme and constructed "10,000 toilets in just 100 hours which led to 71 villages being declared ODF free". He said such changing habits would take India a long way.
2,00,000 villages become open defecation free
The drinking water and sanitation minister said that over 2,00,000 villages had become open defecation free, and were on to their next challenge to deal with the disposal of liquid waste generated.
India wants to be ODF by 2019 but numbers differ
The center has pushed for building toilets across India in a quest to make India open defecation free by 2019. This can happen only if every household has a toilet. 1/4 of Indian villages were declared ODF but the sanitation ministry isn't verifying this. Reports claim that 41 lakh households in MP, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana still don't have toilets.
Haryana and Uttarakhand become ODF states
Uttarakhand and Haryana became the 4th and 5th Open Defecation Free (ODF) states of India. They joined the states like Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, and Kerala, which were the "first three states to be declared ODF". Since the launch of Swachh Bharat Mission, the sanitation coverage spread from 42% to over 64% in 2.5 years giving a thrust to making this possible in these 2 states.
Gujarat villages fining villagers who defecate in the open
Residents of the Gopalpura village who had toilets in their houses were handed a Rs. 200 fine for defecating in the open. Not just this village but almost 79 villages of the taluka in Tapi district have now imposed a similar fine for defecation in the open. The villages have been encouraged by Prime Minister's dream to rid the community of open defecation.
First Gandhigiri, then fine: Villagers use all means for improvement
The sarpanch of Gopalpura, Jaysangh Gamit, said they tried to discourage open defecation by giving roses to those who defecated in open but had to resort to fines then. A similar trend was seen in village Taparwada, where Gandhigiri didn't bring results and then sterner methods were employed. The minister of state for panchayats said that the implementation of fines was the last resort.
