Nellore district to be open defecation free by March 31

Nellore: District Collector R Mutyala Raju said that 1,554 toilets have been constructed within two days in Manubolu mandal declaring the mandal as Open Defecation Free.

He visited Gandhi Nagar Girijan Colony in Mudivarthi village of Vidavalur mandal, Ramalingaswamy ST Colony in Ramateertham village and interacted with villagers.

Mutyala Raju enquired with the beneficiaries if they were getting social security pensions and essential commodities from FP shops or not. He also explained the necessity of individual toilets to villagers.

Speaking to mediapersons at Vidavalur Mandal Parishad Office on Friday, the Collector said that out of 5.67 lakh toilets targeted for construction, 4.16 lakh toilets have been completed so far in the district.

He said measures would be taken to declare the district as Open-Defecation Free by March 31. He also said they had announced 320 panchayats as Open Defecation Free villages so far out of 940 in the district, and would declare 300 more by end of this month.

Further, the Collector interacted with bankers as part of Atmagowravam programme and asked them to adopt villages for constructing toilets as per targets.

He said Rs 350 crore was required for completing the construction of toilets and said they would repay the money afterwards if bankers invest on the task for community welfare.

DRDA Project Director Lavanya Veni, Programme Coordinator Sushmitha and others were present.