Zilla Panchayat President Rekha Huliyappa Gowda has said that there is a need to sustain  cleanliness drive.

Speaking after  inaugurating ‘Swacchatha Utsav’ held as a part of Nirmal Bharath campaign in Chikmagalur, on Monday, she said “villages should become free from open defecation. Water source is likely to get polluted with the open defecation. There is a need to create awareness on the same.”

She said that financial assistance is given for the families to construct toilets. In fact, using the funds under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, toilets can be constructed. The Zilla Panchayat will organise various programmes to create awareness on the need for seggregating the waste from the source and also to dispose the waste scientifically.

Zill Panchayat CEO Shivashankar said that there is a need to give priority to cleanliness in the rural areas. The waste can be converted into manure.