New Delhi (NVI): As the globe observes ‘World Toilet Day’ today, India, which has already been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF), has now set its sights on an ambitious mission ‘ODF Plus’ for sustaining the feat.
Going forward, the Swatchh Bharat Mission (SBM) in India will now focus on moving from ODF to ODF Plus, through a focus on ODF sustainability and Solid Liquid Waste Management under four major verticals: Grey water management, plastic waste management, bio-degradable solid waste management and faecal sludge management, official sources said.
According to the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Since the launch of the SBM, India’s rural sanitation coverage has increased from 39% in 2014 to over 99% as of June 2019.
The World Toilet Day is celebrated every year to promote sanitation and also help to break taboos around toilets.
The United Nation General Assembly formally recognized this day in 2013 with an aim to inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis.
According to an official data, Worldwide, 4.2 billion people live without “safely managed sanitation” and around 673 million people practise open defecation.
A Joint Monitoring Programme (2012) by UNICEF-WHO had reported that India was home to 626 million people practicing open defecation out of the total one billion across the world.
-sb
