PM to J&K Govt: Make sanitation top priority

Jammu: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said sanitation should be made the first priority for Jammu & Kashmir, which is famous for its tourist destinations.

The prime minister, during a review meeting on the progress of his flagship Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) on Tuesday, interacted with the chief secretaries of various states and enquired about the steps taken so far by their governments to declare all the districts in their respective states open defecation free (ODF), an official spokesperson said.

Apprising the prime minister about the progress made by the state in this regard, J&K Chief Secretary BB Vyas said the state has achieved 55 per cent coverage of Individual House Hold Latrines (IHHL) till now and that it will increase up to 60 per cent by April 10, 2018.

Notably, the state is yet to achieve the open defecation free status.

Modi, according to the spokesperson, asked the state chief secretary to cover Jammu province in mission mode before the durbar move to Srinagar, the summer capital of the state.

Also, the chief secretary was told by the prime minister to make efforts on making all district en route to the Amarnath Yatra open defecation free the spokesperson said.

Vyas, who assured the prime minister of achieving the target in prescribed time, said the state has to cover over 6.83 lakh toilets for which a detailed month-wise report has already been prepared and targets have been fixed for each district.