More cities under ODF by October

Around 1,100 towns and cities in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Kerala and Telangana are set to be declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) by October 2. Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Chandigarh have already declared their 281 cities and towns as ODF. A total of 1,418 towns and cities would become ODF by this October. Chandigarh is the only Union territory to have become ODF. These nine states and the UT account for 39 per cent of the total 4,041 cities under the campaign. The Urban Development Secretary D S Mishra has directed officials concerned to pursue with the states/UTs lagging behind like Goa, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Jammu and Kashmir and northeastern states for speeding up construction of toilets which is necessary for the ODF status.