41,000 Toilets Constructed Under ODF Project In First Phase

The Public Health Engineering Department has constructed 41,000 toilets under 'Open defecation-free Punjab project' in 10 districts of the province during the first phase

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Apr, 2021 ) :The Public Health Engineering Department has constructed 41,000 toilets under 'Open defecation-free Punjab project' in 10 districts of the province during the first phase.

The official sources told APP on Wednesday that the department carried out the ODF project successfully in the province to develop a healthy environment.

They said that during the first phase, two million people were given awareness through a campaign via mass media, print, and social media besides fixing messages on key points of villages. He said the ODF evaluation was being carried out by the district ODF evaluation committees.

They said the ODF phase-II would start in the current month in districts where planning for the project had been under way, adding that the government had sanctioned Rs 125 million per year for the project.

Under the three-year programme, the Punjab government, in collaboration with the UNICEF, would construct around two hundred thousand toilets for 1.3 million population in around 1,775 villages across the province.

The government has chosen districts on the basis of Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey 2018, which includes Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Lodhran, Bhakkar, Khushab, Chiniot and Jhang. These districts have open defecation ratio between 20% to 38%. Under the programme, 1,775 most vulnerable villages are being covered.