None of the districts in Bihar open defecation free yet

PATNA: None of the districts in Bihar has been declared 100%

open defecation free

(ODF) yet even as 54% area of the state has been covered under

Swachh Bharat Mission of the Centre

launched over three years ago.

State rural development department secretary Arvind Kumar Choudhary said maximum ODF coverage of 98.4% has been achieved in Rohtas district, followed by 96.2% coverage in Sheikhpura. Four districts stand with more than 70% coverage. These districts are East Champaran (70.3%), Munger (76%) and

Nalanda

and Sitamarhi (79% each). The district with least coverage is Arwal (just 39.7%).

As per official website of Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), states like Arunachal Pradesh, Punjab and Chhattisgarh have achieved 100% ODF status, while Bihar with less than 60% coverage is lagging behind states like Uttar Pradesh (66.26%) and

Tripura

(74.65%).

“In 2014, the ODF status of majority of the districts in Bihar was below 30%. Construction of toilets is at a rapid pace in the state and the target is to construct as many as 80 lakh toilets by October next year,” Choudhary said.

On ongoing work for increasing the sanitation coverage, Choudhary said, “A pool of 32,000 swachhagrahis (sanitation volunteers), comprising women from self-help groups, has been deployed in villages across the state with an aim to promote healthy and safe sanitation practices. A nominal amount of Rs 150 per toilet is awarded to each swachhagrahi. Besides, members of ‘Nigraani Samiti’ do morning and evening follow ups regularly. The Samiti team includes local women who blow whistles to sensitize people against defecating in open. As of now, we are focusing on bringing behavioural changes in people.”

PM Narendra Modi had addressed around 20,000 swachhagrahis from across the country in Motihari on April 10. These volunteers had worked in Bihar for a few weeks to spread awareness about sanitation and construction of toilets.

“School level sanitation teams are also at work. Children of primary schools in various villages ask their parents to fill a form for individual household latrines (IHHL), in which they have to mention the availability of toilets in their household. If a household comes forward with the need of toilet construction, immediate assistance is provided to them,” Choudhary said.

Admitting that Bihar is at the bottom of the list in Swachh Bharat Mission, Choudhary said, “Special sanitation drives will be conducted for motivating people and the target will be achieved before October 2019.”