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Realising The Dream Of Swachh India: This North Eastern State Is All Set To Become Open Defecation Free By 2018
Efforts are in full swing to make Arunachal Pradesh Open Defecation Free (ODF) soon, currently there are just 1,056 individual toilets and 9 community toilets which have been built
New Delhi: India’s remotest state with a tough terrain, Arunachal Pradesh which till date continues to face severe sanitation issues has set a target of 2018 for it to become open defecation free. Chief Minister Pema Khandu assured that the state will meet its target and become free from open defecation by 2018 during the thanksgiving programme on successful completion of Swachh Survekshan 2017, which was held in Itanagar recently. Pema Khandu asked the citizens of the state to take responsibility and come forward for ‘Swachh Arunachal Pradesh’ cause, and added, “Sanitation is not only the responsibility of the government, the local bodies or the district administration but also the citizens. Every individual should take responsibility of keeping their surroundings clean and help the system work efficiently.”
Also Read: Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland’s Uphill Fight Against Open Defecation
Appreciating the efforts of the state’s capital – Itanagar which is also the only city in the state, Mr Khandu added, from the 3rd dirtiest city to the 216th cleanest city, Itanagar has achieved so much in 1 year. Kudos!
He assured full support to the Itanagar Municipal Corporation and beckoned all to take the city from the current 216th position to the top ten in the coming year.
Highlighting the future road map for the Swachh Abhiyan, Capital (or state capital’s) Deputy Commissioner, Prince Dhawan informed that there will be three major initiatives that will be launched very soon – Source Segregation, launch of ‘My Itanagar’ app for people to register complaints and introduction of minimal civic charges for the services.
Swachh Report Card Of Arunachal Pradesh
According to the statistics provided by the government, till now around 1,056 individual toilets and mere 9 community toilets have been built. Though India’s sanitation coverage has been grown to 60 per cent now from 42 per cent in October 2014, in Arunachal, only 26.48 per cent villages have been declared open defecation free from the state. So the state has a long battle to wage on the swachhta front.