Rural Nagaland declared Open Defecation Free

On the day of Gandhi Jayanti, rural Nagaland was declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) on Tuesday.

The formal declaration was made by Public Health Engineering (PHE) Minister Jacob Zhimomi during a function on the Swachhata Diwas.

The minister said the ODF declaration is for all the 1,122 villages of the state and does not cover urban areas.

He asserted that the PHED would cooperate with the Urban Development Department towards achieving ODF in the urban areas.

"The onus lies with the Urban Development Department to achieve the goal," he said.

The minister expressed hope that the state along with the entire nation would become ODF by October 2 next year, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

"As we declare the state ODF, the job of every citizen should be to care for the infrastructure created and sustain the development," he said.

The minister also gave away awards to 112 villages for best sanitation practices.