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North civic body declares itself open defecation-free

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The Hindu     03.01.2018  

North civic body declares itself open defecation-free

North Delhi Mayor Preety Agarwal (centre) said that keeping the toilets clean needs concerted effort.Special Arrangement  

There are 314 Community Toilet Complexes, says Mayor Preety Agarwal

The first day of 2018 brought good news to the residents of north Delhi with the North Delhi Municipal Corporation declaring all 104 wards under its jurisdiction open defecation-free.

“The North Corporation has been declared open defecation-free since December 31, 2017. Our area has adequate number of community and public toilets as per the yardstick of Swachh Bharat Mission,” said North Delhi Mayor Preety Agarwal.

Ms. Agarwal added that there are 314 Community Toilet Complexes (CTCs), with 3,508 seats for men and 3, 232 seats for women.

Apart from these, there are a total of 2,063 seats for men and 3,256 seats for women available in public toilets, including the ones at petrol pumps, restaurants, metro stations and Delhi Development Authority (DDA) markets falling in the areas under the civic body’s jurisdiction.

“Our job does not end here, we have also issued instructions to public and private agencies in our area to allow the general public to use their washrooms. We also have ample number of urinals in crowded areas and are constructing new ones from time to time,” Ms. Agarwal said.

‘Maintaining cleanliness’

The Mayor added that though the toilets have been constructed, keeping them clean and maintaining them is a process that needs to be carried out by both the civic body and the people. “All the toilets have been uploaded on Google Maps, using which people can locate their closest toilets,” she said.

North Corporation commissioner Madhup Vyas said that all the officials of the corporation have an important role to play in achieving this target. “We have not only constructed new toilets but also undertaken mass public movement for stoppage of open defecation and beautifying public places,” Vyas said.

He also stressed upon the need of waste segregation at source. “We have been moving forward with our campaign of Roko Toko Seeti Bajao , to encourage public participation,” he said.