Kathmandu, Nepal, October 019, 2019 :Nepal has been declared as an open-defecation free (ODF) country amid a program in Kathmandu on Monday. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli made the declaration claiming the declaration as of his government’s notable achievement.
The declaration was made by organizing a grand program at Ministry of Water Supply in Kathmandu. It is said that the declaration was made in recognition of all 753 local units of 77 districts that had declared themselves ODF recently.
However, the declaration of ODF has been criticized from different quarter though Prime Minister Oli declared Nepal an open-defecation free zone making the country the first to do so in South Asia.
The critics have been questioning the rationality of such declaration stating that major cities including Kathmandu valley are grappling with the lack of public toilets.
The open-defecation of not only the poor settlements but also the streets of the capital city would have teasing the declaration, thanks to the lack of public toilets in cities and lack of toilets and toilet using habits in the poor settlements, the critics have stated.
As hundreds of thousand families in poor settlements, particularly in the Terai and hilly districts are still without toilets and goes out in the open, various social media users have greeted the announcement with pictures of people defecating in the open.
During the program, Prime Minister Oli also pledged to make Nepal a fully-sanitized country by 2030. As we are committed not to let the people remain in inhumane situation, Nepal will be a fully-sanitized country by 2030, PM Oli said.
