Trichy declared open defecation free after survey

The ministry of urban development (MoUD) has declared Trichy city 'open defecation-free' (ODF). While there are a few other municipalities in Tamil Naduthat have been declared ODF following the survey, Trichy city corporation perhaps is the only one among the 12 city corporations to be declared ODF.

A team from the QCI, on behalf of the urban development ministry, had visited the city a few days ago to carry out the survey. The results have been published in the Swachh Bharat Urban website of the ministry.

While ODF being a major parameter in the 'clean survey' (Swachh Sarvekshan) to rank the cleanest city in the country, Trichy now has an upper edge over many other cities in the country. The QCI checked the list of places of community toilets in the city from the city corporation and also made random checks at those places. The team also verified whether the premises are maintained properly.

Even though the city has been declared ODF, there are places in the city where defecation in the open gutter is still in practice, but goes grossly unnoticed, said president of the Trichy district Exnora, C Balasubramanian. "Such unhygienic practices have to be checked by the city corporation by ensuring quality lavatory infrastructure. Besides, equal focus should be on educating public on usage of toilets, including the need for having individual toilets at home," he said.

It is noteworthy that the union minister for urban development, Venkaiah Naidu, had appreciated the infrastructure for lavatories in Trichy while terming it as the best among the rest of the cities while handing over the certificate for the cleanest city in February 2016.