Indore would be declared as an ODF (open defecation-free) city at a programme on Monday.
The success was achieved after taking inspiration from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Swachchh Bharat' campaign. Besides, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, during the swearing-in ceremony of Indore Municipal Corporation's newly-elected mayor and corporators in February last year, had committed to make the State's financial capital Indore as an open defecation free city.
Finally, Indore has literally become the second open defecation-free district in the country after Nadia in West Bengal.
The tag of being the second open defecation free district in the country assumes significance more so as it took less than six months for the district administration to ensure that not a single village in the district remains free from open defecation. Though a formal announcement to declare Indore as an open defecation free district would be made by lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and the Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan here on Monday, the district administration has already been provided with confirmation certificates from all 310 panchayats of the district which claims of latrines in each house of 610 villages in the district.
District panchayat CEO Ashish Singh said the drive to make Indore as an ODF district was started in September 1 last year and in less than six months, the district administration under its drive constructed a total of 29,900 latrines in all the villages of Indore district, while 9,000 latrines were constructed by the villagers themselves under pressure from their children and womenfolk.