Udhampur, September 10: Udhampur district has been declared open defecation free on Monday. A total of 75000 toilets have been constructed in all 230 panchayats of the district. All the families identified in the district were provided with toilet units. According to a report published by ANI, the district has registered 100 percent physical achievement in Swachh Bharat Mission - Gramin.

An event was organised in the district to celebrate the achievement. The Deputy Commissioner of Udhampur, Ravinder Kumar, Senior Superintendent of Police Rayees Bhat attended the event. During the event, Kumar said, “When I was posted in Udhampur, I found it as a big challenge. But, I was confident that we would be able to achieve it. I am really happy that Udhampur has shown a way to whole India. Our officials have worked day and night to achieve it, rain or shine.”

In May, an 87-year-old woman from Udhampur had set an example for people of India by engaging herself in making a toilet near her house. Earlier this year, the government had informed the Lok Sabha that till date 11 states and union territories (UTs) had been declared open defecation free (ODF) under Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), the Centres flagship programme. The 11 states/UTs include Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Gujarat, Chandigarh, Daman and Diu, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Meghalaya had been declared ODF.

In Maharashtra, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in April had declared rural areas of the state open defecation-free (ODF) and claimed the state had constructed the highest number of toilets in the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called the open defecation free (ODF) a movement of respect for motherhood and women.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 11, 2018 12:17 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).