On Kerala day, state to declare freedom from open defecation

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala will be declared as open defecation-free state on its formation day on 1 November with the CPIM-led LDF government planning to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend a function.[caption id="attachment_2976724" align="alignleft" width="380"] File image of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. PTI[/caption]A decision to this effect was taken at the state Cabinet meeting on Thursday, an official statement said. The Cabinet decided to invite Modi, who has launched the Swachh Bharat mission for a Clean India, to attend the state-level function to be held, it said.A total of more than 1.90 lakh toilets are being constructed across the 941 gramma panchayats in the state, including in individual houses, located at critically challenged and hilly terrains, as part of the sanitation programme by the state government.Suchitwa Mission, the state nodal agency for sanitation, which is implementing the plan said work on 35 percent of the toilets had already been completed and the state would achieve the new milestone by November.