Construction of over 5,000 toilets to begin today

Tribune News Service

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Ludhiana, July 11

Ludhiana is all set to become Open Defecation Free (ODF) by December 31 this year according to district administration. Taking another leap under the Swachh Bharat Mission, the construction of more than 5,000 toilets will start tomorrow. Notably, 162 villages of the Ludhiana district have already been announced Open Defecation Free till date.

Deputy Commissioner Ravi Bhagat said the ODF campaign under the Swachh Bharat Mission was being carried out in the district in an effective manner, and was well received at the state as well as the national level. “For making this campaign more effective, the district administration has decided to start the construction of more than 5,000 toilets in a single day tomorrow. For the supervision of this campaign, seven committees have been formed, responsibilities of the SDMs have been fixed and for their assistance, one SDO each has been deputed with them,” the DC added.

He said on July 12, construction of toilets would start in 300 villages and it would be completed in the next two months. Of the total toilets, around 3,200 will be constructed by the Water Supply and Sanitation Department and remaining by the Bharti Foundation. The DC said there were a total of 928 villages in the Ludhiana district, of which 162 had already been declared Open Defecation Free and 14,383 toilets had been constructed in 651 villages.

For this project, the Water Supply and Sanitation Department, Executive Engineer (XEN), Jaswinder Singh Chahal, has been appointed the nodal officer.

The DC added that the main aim of this project was not just constructing new toilets, but making sure that people actually use them.

Meanwhile, ADC (D) Apneet Riyait and XEN Jaswinder Singh Chahal said under this project, not only toilets would be constructed, but the masses would also be educated about the ill-effects of open defecation. For making people aware, village-level committees have been formed along with vigilance committees, they added.