State capital declared open defecation-free

In a major milestone, Shimla, the state’s capital, has become free of open defecation. This has been revealed in the annual cleanliness survey, conducted by the Municipal Corporation (MC) Shimla. As per the survey, all 34 wards of the town have been declared open defecation-free.

Joint Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Shimla, said the Swachhata Survey was an annual process as ranking of all cities under various parameters was conducted. Before sending the report, the corporation conducts the survey at its level. Just like last year, all 34 wards of the town have been declared open defecation-free this year as well.

“Being an urban area, all houses in the town have own toilets, which has contributed a lot for curbing open defecation. Besides, there are more than 120 public toilets across the town. As a result, the town has once again emerged as open defecation-free,” he said. Sharma said to reduce open defecation in the town, the MC had taken various initiatives such as maintaining public toilets etc. The MC also manages solid waste, besides collecting and disposing of wet and dry waste.