Kerala to be declared Open Defecation Free

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Following Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh, the next state to be labelled Open Defecation Free is Kerala. An event was organised which took place at the Central Stadium, on Tuesday. The function will see Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of Panchayati Raj, Rural Development, and Drinking Water and Sanitation, as the chief guest. With over 10,000 people expected to attend, the highlight of the event will be the eco-friendly pavilion. Civic officials who gave their full support to achieve the status will be felicitated. Programme officer Amir Shah said, "Though Kerala is the third Open Defecation Free state, it is the first high density populated state in the country to achieve this recognition. It was not an easy task for us to achieve this status since we faced many challenges. We gave each family a sum of Rs 15,400 to construct a toilet."