Andaman & Nicobar Islands Takes Lead in Sanitisation Drive, Port Blair Declared Open Defecation Free

Port Blair, Oct 4: Taking a major lead in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Swachh Bharat campaign, the Andaman & Nicobar Islands declared its capital Port Blair as Open Defecation Free (ODF). The s

Port Blair, Oct 4: Taking a major lead in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat campaign, the Andaman & Nicobar Islands declared its capital Port Blair as Open Defecation Free (ODF).

The self-certificate awarded by Port Blair Municipal Council (PBMC) would be reviewed by a third-party agency. This would be followed by a governmental review at every six months to retain the ODF tag.

Port Blair, with a population of 1.59 lakh people,found 7,000 of its populace defecating in the open. To address the issue, the urban body provided Rs 14,000 to 1,600 households to construct toilets. Community toilets, with 256 seats, were also set up in 48 areas, said PBMC official Avinash Kumar Singh. A total of 2.5 crore was spent on its construction, he claimed.

Apart from building toilets, the civic body also took sufficient steps towards waste management, with none of the water bodies being polluted in the island.

The island of Port Blair, the most urbanised part of Andamans, saw a surge in the civilian population following the tsunami of 2004. With most of the smaller islands being destructed due to the natural calamity, a massive section of the population shifted to the capital, where the infrastructure was comparatively strong to tackle future tsunami threats. With the rise in population, the civic body faced housing and sanitation issues.