Kozhikode declared first open defecation free district in India by Excise Minister

The gram panchayats of the Kozhikode has been previously declared as ODF

Kozhikode, Jan 6:  Excise Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan today declared Kozhikode to be the first Indian district to be free from open defecation. Under the Suchitwa Mission Kozhikode, all the 13 Legislative assemblies and 70 gram panchayats of the district have been declared to be free from open defecation.

The Suchitwa Mission Kozhikode in 2015 took up the task of making the Kozhikode district Open Defecation Free (ODF) and in the process of doing so, the organisation had to build toilets for 12,799 families in the district. The gram panchayats of the Kozhikode has been previously declared as ODF according to the reports of The Hindu. 

The Suchitwa Mission is a programme  launched by the state government has been working as a nodal agency for assisting the cities, municipalities and panchayats for providing technical inputs for sanitation and waste management projects in the state.

To make the Kozhikode district ODF, the Mission used extensive social media campaign as well as street plays to create awareness. The main focus of the Mission was in the parts of the coastal areas, tribal belts and railway stations of the district where open defecation was a big problem. However, after achieving the target of ODF Kozhikode, the Mission has now changed its focus towards creating awareness against open urination among the masses.