J&K: Srinagar declared Open Defecation Free city

Mayor of Srinagar Junaid Azim Mattu on Tuesday declared that the city has joined the list of 'Open Defecation Free' cities, following Bhubaneswar which joined the list on January 3.

Taking to Twitter, Mayor Junaid Azim Mattu shared the Swachhata Certificate awarded to Srinagar by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Central Government, making it an Open Defecation Free city. This achievement comes after the city was ranked 45th in the Cleanest Cities of India. 

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As of February 2018, 11 States/UTs have been declared Open Defecation Free. These include Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Gujarat, Chandigarh, Daman and Diu, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Meghalaya.

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Bhubaneswar becomes open defecation free city

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on January 3, declared the Odisha capital as an open defecation free city and said that it would apply for the 'Star Rating of Garbage Free Cities'.

The urban civic body also prepared itself for the 'Swachh Survekshan Survey, 2020' which has been introduced with the objective of sustaining the on-ground performance of cities along with continuous monitoring of services in terms of cleanliness, an official said.

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"Regarding the open defecation free status, we are open for third-party verification. Gradually, the urban civic body will proceed towards applying for the Star Rating of Garbage Free Cities," BMC administrator and director of municipal administration of the Odisha government Sangramjit Nayak said.

BMC Commissioner Prem Chandra Chaudhary urged people to become more responsible to make the 'Temple City' clean and green. The civic body has launched a 'Go Green Campaign' to sensitise citizens not to create more non-biodegradable waste in the city, he said. "There are 226 under construction toilets and these will become functional," Chaudhary said.

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