CM to announce S 24 Parganas open defecation free today

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will declare South 24 Parganas as Open Defecation Free (ODF) district during her visit to hold administrative review meeting on Friday. Among all districts in the country, highest numbers of toilets have been set up in South 24 Parganas in the past two years.

Banerjee will also be addressing a programme organised at Pailan in South 24 Parganas to distribute different items among beneficiaries from the state. The administrative review meeting of the district will also take place in Pailan.

In the past two years, a total 7.19 lakh toilets have been set up in the district and in no district in the country, so many toilets have been set up. South 24 Parganas is the sixth district to be declared ODF after Nadia, Hooghly, North 24 Parganas, East Midnapore and Alipurduar.

Nadia is the first ODF district in the country and the state government has once again set a record by setting up highest number of toilets in a district. According to the data of the Centre, there was a requirement to set up toilets in five lakh households. But the state government has set up 7.19 lakh toilets. Besides those households, toilets have been set up for people who do not have their own houses, ICDS centres and local clubs.

According to a senior officer, it was not at all an easy task. "We had taken it up not as a project but a social movement. Special drives were conducted to ensure toilets in every house. Schoolchildren, doctors, paramedics, youth from local clubs, ICDS workers, religious heads and other organisations took part in order to make the district open defecation free," the officer said adding that such initiatives have made it possible to reach the goal of making the district open defecation free.

Other issues including that of Bhangar, where work of setting up of the power grid sub-station came to a standstill following agitation instigated by some outsiders, is going to come up in the administrative review meeting on Friday. It may be mentioned that in most of the administrative meetings, the issue of fluctuation in voltage of power supply had cropped up and the Chief Minister lashed out as the work of setting up of power grid has stalled due to such agitation.

Moreover, she will be taking stock of the ongoing projects in the district. Several steps have been taken up for the development of Sunderbans and Sagar Island. A few months ago, three police districts have also been formed in South 24 Parganas.