All village panchayats in Tiruchi district will be declared open
defecation-free (ODF) by December 31, according to Collector K.
Rajamani.

Speaking at a function organised by Association of
Voluntary Organisations here on Saturday, he said that construction of
Individual Household Latrines (IHHL) in village panchayats had gained
momentum. Out of 404 village panchayats, construction of individual
household toilets in all houses of 301 panchayats had already been
completed. The DRDA officials were instructed to expedite the process of
constructing toilets in all pending villages. The progress of works was
being closely monitored.

“Tiruchi district is a pioneer in
construction of toilets in rural households. The day is not far away in
declaring Tiruchi district is open defecation-free,” Mr. Rajamani said.
Stating that Tiruchi city had figured in the top 10 cleanest cities
across the country for three years consecutively, he said a number of
steps had been initiated to improve the ranking in 2018. All citizens of
the city should cooperate with the civic body to improve its ranking.
Tiruchi City Corporation had already banned plastic sale, which was
affecting the environment.

Complimenting the Non-Governmental
Organizations in Tiruchi district on creating awareness among the people
on open defecation, Mr. Rajamani said their role in solid waste
management could not be underestimated.

K. Meena, former
vice-chancellor, Bharathidasan University, said that the NGOs would have
to play a key role in creating awareness among the public on various
aspects of life.

“Sevai” Govindaraj, “Scope” Subburaman, M.A.
Aleem, former vice-principal, K. A. P. Viswanatham Medical College,
Tiruchi and others spoke.

Earlier, Mr. Rajamani presented a medal
on behalf of Association of Voluntary Agencies to S. Sakul Hameed,
Executive Officer, Ponnampatti Town Panchayat, as a token of
appreciation for bagging best town panchayat award in the State for best
practices in solid waste management.