Nagaland on Tuesday became the 22nd State in the country and fourth in the Northeast to be declared Open Defecation Free State (Rural) on the occasion of 149th birth anniversary of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi.
PHE minister Jacob Zhimomi announced this in the presence of PHE department officials, village councils and water and sanitation (WATSAN) committee members at an event held at Ura Academy Hall here. On the occasion the minister also gave away awards to 112 villages for best sanitation practices.
In his address, the minister acknowledged the cooperation extended by all those involved in the campaign like PHE department officials, WATSAN committee members and citizens for their relentless effort to achieve the status of ODF State (Rural) and congratulated the awardees, adding that it was a proud moment for Nagaland.
Zhimomi said the ODF declaration is for all the 1,122 villages of the state and does not cover urban areas. While Longleng, Kiphire, Dimapur and Mokokchung districts were declared ODF in 2017, the remaining districts of Kohima, Mon, Peren, Zunheboto, Wokha, Phek and Tuensang were declared ODF on Tuesday, thereby making Nagaland ODF State (Rural).
On the occasion, the best performing villages were also awarded with mementos and citations.
Zhimomi further announced that as the country stepped into the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, PHED would collaborate with urban development department so that Nagaland was declared as ODF by 2019 along with rest of the country.
He expressed sorrow over the recent damage caused to road infrastructure and private properties by heavy rains, adding efforts were on to restore them.
The minister further asserted that development was not just about having good buildings and roads, but also about having basic amenities with a clean environment.
Claiming that the State government had helped in getting Nagaland declared as ODF State (Rural), he remarked that now it was now up to the citizens to retain the status, even as he appealed to village councils and WATSAN committee members to ensure that ODF status was retained.
Zhimomi mentioned that as per an independent council report, Nagaland ranked 15th in the country in sanitation maintenance in rural areas and called for working towards the common endeavour of ensuring that Nagaland was included in top 10 for sanitation.
“As we declare the state ODF, the job of every citizen should be to care for the infrastructure created and sustain the development,” he stated.
The programme was chaired by PHE commissioner and secretary Moangwati Aier.
Meanwhile, interacting with media persons, WATSAN chairman from Changlangshu village in Mon district L Pongkhao said his village had a population of 7,000 with 736 households and expressed joy that every household had proper toilets.
Stating that village authorities conducted social work often, he asserted that his village would continue to retain the ODF status, while appealing to other villages to follow the same.