Several villages in Chhattisgarh have been declared open defecation-free (ODF).
Parliamentary Secretary Roopkumari Choudhary the other day declared Bhurkoni and Tilakpur villages ODF.
Kolihadevri, Kamroud, lahengar and Bhutbahara villages in the district have already been declared ODF.
In a programme organised here, Choudhary said that Bhurkoni was the largest village that has been declared ODF.
Inspired by this, sarpanchs of as many as 10 Gram Panchayats took oath of making their village also ODF, she added.
Choudhary expressed happiness that the villagers understood the importance of using lavatories and this would certainly be the motivating factor for other villagers.
MlA Chunni lal Sahu said it was due to the efforts of Chief Minister Raman Singh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi that people are now aware of maintaining cleanliness.
Collector Umesh Kumar Agrawal said that if people were determined, there would be lavatory in every house.
He termed it a matter of pride for the people here that their village has been declared ODF. Earlier, Roopkumari Choudhary was accorded a warm welcome at the hands of villagers. District Panchayat member Kumari Bai Diwan, Pithora Janpad Panchayat vice-president Piyush Agarwal and others were present on the occasion.