Lko to be ODF district by October

LUCKNOW: The state capital is set to become an open defecation free district (ODF) by October 2018. The administration has launched a special drive aimed at the transformation of villages in all gram panchayats of the district into ODF villages.

Of the total 570 gram panchayats in the district, around 60 have so far been transformed into ODF ones by the panchayati raj department.

“In the state capital, we are done with 60 gram panchayats and are heading towards our target – that is to complete the transformation of all the remaining gram panchayats into ODF ones,” said Pradeep Kumar, district panchayati raj adhikari (DPRO).

Kumar said another set of 70 gram panchayats would be transformed by April-end while special teams have been constituted to carry out the remaining work on a war footing. He said priorities are being given to the gram panchayats having less population.

“We are starting with the small gram panchayats, where we are ensuring that every household gets a toilet,” he added.

Mujasa in Malihabad and Raipur in Mal block – the two gram panchayats in the district were the first to get the ODF status. Recently, the district magistrate released a fund of Rs 206.04 lakh for the expected transformation.

“The DM has released the amount to help more villages in getting ODF status,” said Prashant Sharma, chief development officer (CDO).

Sharma said the amount would be utilised in transforming around 23 more villages into ODF ones. He said Lucknow is perhaps the first district to witness such a large-scale transformation. “It’s aimed at bringing cleanliness to the villages,” he added.

In May 2016, Mujasa and later Raipur were transformed into ODF villages, becoming the state’s first two ODF villages. After this, the administration picked up other villages to take its cleanliness drive to another level.

The administration has constituted a team of 40 officials, including volunteers from NGO, ‘Vatsalya, playing a crucial role in the drive, along with officers from other departments.

The team would pay a visit to the proposed ODF villages and take the drive further by holding nukkad nataks, workshops and awareness drive.

ADMN LAUNCHES DRIVE TO TRANSFORM ALL GRAM PANCHAYATS INTO OPEN DEFECATION FREE AREAS