Rural Kerala to be declared ‘Open Defecation-Free’

In a milestone, rural Kerala is all set to be declared 'Open Defecation Free' on Tuesday, state Local Administration Minister K T Jaleel said here on Monday.

"We completed the construction of about 1.75 lakh toilets in the last two months in rural areas," he told reporters here.

The rural ODF programme by the Suchitwa Mission, the state nodal agency for sanitation, would benefit 1.75 lakh families across the state, Jaleel said.

The programme got a boost after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, heading the CPI-M led LDF government, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan would make the declaration in the presence of Union Minister for Rural Development, DrinkingWater and Sanitation and Panchayati Raj Narendra Singh Tomar, at a function to be organised in Thiruvananthpuram.

The function is scheduled to be held on Tuesday.