Bhubaneswar: The western Odisha district of Sonepur has made it into the top eight districts of the state which has achieved its target of toilet construction under Swachh Bharat Mission (Rural). It is now slated to be declared as an open defecation free (ODF) district.
As per the latest statistics from the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, the rural areas of Sonepur district have achieved their targets in toilet construction and moved ahead under the Centre’s sanitation mission.
The breakup of the details from the ministry claims the district had a total of 79,15,216 households out of which 9,45,624 had toilets before the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission till October 2, 2014. The statistics showed that before the launch of the mission in Sonepur has a meagre coverage of 12 per cent which has now increased to 100 per cent with the total toilet construction reaching 79,15,216 households.
With the addition of Sonepur with 100 per cent coverage, Odisha now hosts a total of eight districts with 100 per cent toilet coverage. Other districts which have achieved 100 per cent toilet coverage include Deogarh, Jharsuguda, Balasore, Sambalpur, Dhenkanal and Ganjam.
However, while eight districts have achieved their desired targets under the mission, Odisha is still among the worst two states for the least toilet coverage in the country. Some districts like Kalahandi (53 per cent coverage), Mayurbhanj (65 per cent), Kendrapara (68 per cent), Nayagarh (69 per cent) and Malkangiri (70 per cent).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the Swachh Bharat Mission October 2, 2014 to accelerate the efforts to achieve universal sanitation coverage in India and promote access to safe sanitation in India. The mission aims at achieving an ODF nation by October 2, 2019, to mark a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary.
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