Bathinda to be declared open defecation-free soon

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, August 6

As per a survey by and recommendation of the Quality Council of India, which was nominated by the Union Government for the task, Bathinda will soon become the first city in the state to be declared open defecation-free (ODF).

According to the details, the independent agency has found the documentation of the MCB complete.

Further, it inspected nine locations in the city, which included two slum areas, two residential areas, two commercial areas, two schools and a special location.

The parameters for ODF status were all households having space to construct a toilet should have constructed one, all occupants of the households who do not have space to construct a toilet, have access to community toilets within a distance of 500 m, all commercial areas have public toilets within a distance of one km and the city has a mechanism in place through which fine is imposed on persons found defecating in the open.

In 2016, the corporation declared 14 wards of the city open defecation-free.

Later, another 10 wards were added to the list in 2017. In the first week of 2018, the corporation declared all 50 wards in the city as open defecation-free.

Municipal Commissioner Dr Rishipal Singh has congratulated all city residents and the staff of the MCB for the achievement.

Mayor Balwant Rai Nath also congratulated the people and the sanitation team, which did the work and created awareness among people regarding this.

He said Bathinda was called a backward area and now it had been the first city in the state, which has been recommended to be declared ODF.

XEN Sandeep Gupta said, “We have to work hardes to maintain this level.”

MCB officials organised a party to celebrate the achievement at the MCB meeting hall in the evening.