Kumaraswamy says villages are clean

Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy yesterday said the southern state was open defecation free in its rural areas.

“Earlier statistics showed that only half or one-third of the rural households had individual toilets, but presently, all the 7.2 million rural households in the state have been provided with individual toilets, thereby reducing open defecation,” Kumaraswamy said. The state’s Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department has built 4.5 million toilets in about five years, he said.