Madhya Pradesh to be declared ODF by October this year

NEW DELHI: The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced that the State will be declared as open defecation free (ODF) by Gandhi Jayanti this year.nnThis will mean that the State will become ODF one year before the national timeline of October 2nd, 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.nnThe announcement was made at a public ceremony at Bhopal, which was also attended by Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation,Uma Bharti, State Ministers, Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, ParameswaranIyer, and other senior officials.nnAddressing more than 5000 people who came from various parts of the State, the Chief Minister also spoke about how the Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) has become a jan andolan ? a people?s movement ? in the State.nnHe went on to emphasize the role of people?s participation in making a sanitation movement like this successful, and said that he looked forward to the continued support of the people of the State in achieving as well as sustaining ODF status in the State.nnIn her address to the gathering, the Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation, Sushri Uma Bharti shared that the national sanitation coverage has risen to over 83%, a more than double increase from the baseline coverage of 39% at the time of the launch of the Mission in October,2014. She underlined that Swachh Bharat is ultimately a movement for the people, by the people and of the people and that is what has made it a true jan andolan.nnShe shared that over 3.7 lakh villages, 383 districts and 17 States/Union Territories  (UTs) of the country have already been declared ODF, and stressed upon the need to also start focusing on ODF-plus activities as well. To this end, the GOBAR-dhan scheme was also launched in Madhya Pradesh at the event.