Thrissur: Thrissur has become the first district in the state to have all grama panchayats open defecation-free (ODF). District panchayat president Sheela Vijayakumar and collector A. Kowsigan made the declaration on Monday. “All the 86 grama panchayats of the districts have completed construction of toilets for all families,” Ms Vijayakumar said. “A survey was conducted to find the houses without toilets, which found that 3,472 did not have toilet facility. As many as 3,002 families had applied for the ODF scheme, and others said they were using common toilets. Suchitwa Mission allotted Rs 12,000 and grama panchayats contributed Rs 3,400 to each beneficiary under the scheme.”
Suchitwa Mission officials told DC that Kannur is next in line. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will declare Kerala an ODF state on its formation day on November 1. Kerala will be the second state in the country after Sikkim to attain such a status. “It is encouraging to see Thrissur achieving ODF status,” said Dr K. Vasuki, executive director of Suchitwa Mission. “Initially, it seemed to be a very challenging task. However, with a dedicated and self-driven team, the ODF drive progressed in full swing. We are confident about other districts also achieving ODF on or before the targeted date.”
