As many as 101 panchayats in the district have been declared as Open Defecation Free recently with the villagers taking a pledge to use toilets and to end open defecation.
Nine panchayats each in Kammapuram and Kumaratchi, six in Cuddalore and Nallur, seven each in Parangipettai and Virudhachalam, three in Annagramam and Kurinjipadi, 12 in Keerapalayam, eight in Bhuvanagiri, 15 in Kattumannarkovil and 16 in Mangalur have been declared as defecation free said Collector S. Suresh Kumar.
According to a survey, about 10,936 families in the panchayats didn’t have access to toilets. The district administration chalked an action plan to ensure 100 per cent coverage of toilets in all households. The Government provided Rs.12,000 to each beneficiary for construction of toilets and all the families were covered in two phases.
