District panchayat president Babu Parasseri on Sunday declared all the 70 grama panchayats in the district Open Defecation Free (ODF).
The declaration for urban local bodies, including the Kozhikode Municipal Corporation and five municipalities, will be made later. Kozhikode was third, behind Thrissur and Kannur, in declaring its grama panchayats ODF in the State. The State will be declared ODF on November 1.
When Suchitwa Mission Kozhikode took up the task of making the district Open Defecation Free (ODF) in 2015, not many expected that 12,799 families in the district would need toilets. Having declared the grama panchayats ODF, Suchitwa Mission Assistant Coordinator K.P. Radhakrishnan feels that the job is only half done.
“Compared to the rest of the country, open defecation is minuscule in Kerala. Our real problem is open urination. Unless the mindset of the people changes, we cannot get rid of this problem,” he said.
Hence, the Mission is now focussing on creating awareness against open urination among the masses through various means.
“We have a group consisting of NSS volunteers and MSW students taking the message to the grassroots. We are making use of any available occasion or venue to spread this message,” Mr. Radhakrishnan said.
Awarness among children
The Mission is about to launch an extensive campaign through social media against open urination. Street plays will also be used. Efforts are being made to create awareness among schoolchildren specifically.
Open defecation was a problem only in some parts of the district like the coastal area, tribal belt, at migrant labourers’ accommodations, and often surrounding railway stations.
A special vigilance committee has been launched to make sure that people use the toilets that have been provided to them, especially in these vulnerable areas to make sure that the ODF declaration was not a farce,he said.
