02 October,2017 09:33 PM IST | Mumbai | Gaurav Sarkar
Says government has upheld its 2-year-old promise of doing this by 2017, vows to achieve the same for 'real Maharashtra' by 2018
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis declared Urban Maharashtra open-defecation free at a Swachh Bharat event in the city yesterday.
CM Devendra Fadnavis with President Ramnath Kovind at a Swacch Bharat event at the NSCI Worli yesterday. Pic/Sneha Kharabe
Held at the NSCI Worli, the event was attended by President Ram Nath Kovind, who, on his birthday, was visiting Maharashtra for the first time after being elected to his new post. The gathering also had Governor Vidyasagar Rao as well as scores of participants from interior Maharashtra.
Fadnavis said, "Today is a proud occasion; we get to fulfil the determination we took two years back to make Urban Maharashtra ODF. This has been possible because of everyone's support, all those who were involved in this cause, and has resulted in so much change, that now, we see gardens growing in places where earlier people used to defecate. Children are playing in the same spots, as they are now defecation-free. I vow that in the coming year, we will have installed systems to dispose garbage in a scientific manner. By September 2019, we will also ensure that proper waste segregation and processing units are in place across the state."
Kovind began his speech by addressing the victims of the Elphinstone Road station stampede that occurred on Friday. "I want to offer my condolences to the families of the victims... Mumbaikars are known to keep moving and striving ahead, and I have utmost respect for them because of this virtue."
"Apart from just building toilets, we must also use them properly; ensure that the door of the toilet - whether it's a public one or the one at your home - is shut at all times, and left as clean and tidy as it was before you used it," he added.
