All village panchayats in Goa declared open defecation free

Panaji: The Goa government on Saturday announced that all village panchayat areas in the state are now Open Defecation Free (ODF).

Panchayat Minister Mauvin Godinho told media that all 180-odd panchayats have been officially declared as ODF.

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The government has installed adequate number of toilets, including community ones, in these areas, he said.

More toilets will be built wherever needed, he added.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had appealed panchayat bodies earlier this month to actively support the effort to make the coastal state ODF by August 31 under the Centre's Swachh Bharat Mission.

"As the first step...work of installation of community toilets has been entrusted to Goa Waste Management Corporation with a timeline of August 31," he had said.

Toilets for individual households which lacked the facility were being constructed under a state scheme, Sawant had informed.

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(PTI)