NEW DELHI: On the occasion of the third anniversary of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious Swachh Bharat Mission, maker Dabur India Ltd today said that it has helped 12 villages in Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh achieve Open Defecation Free (ODF) status.
It has targeted to more than double the number of ODF villages under its fold to 26 by the end of 2017-18 fiscal.
The 12 villages declared Open Defecation Free following sustained efforts by Dabur India Ltd include eight in Uttar Pradesh and four in Himachal Pradesh. In all, the company has helped construct toilets in over 2,600 households across these villages to achieve this feat.
In addition, separate toilet blocks for boys and girls are also being constructed in nearly 20 schools across five states: Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Assam.
“Dabur is committed to its motto of being dedicated to the Health & Well-Being of every household. The sanitation exercise in rural India, covering both households and schools, is part of this mission. Our intention to make 26 villages across Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh Open-Defecation Free by the end of the financial year 2017-18 and we are well on track”, A Sudhakar, Head CSR said.
Dabur in 2016-17 constructed nearly 1,254 household toilets under its initiative “700 se 7 kadam” that sought to protect the dignity of women in the hinterland by bringing toilets closer to them.
Dabur and its CSR arm Sundesh, have also been organising several programmes and cleanliness awareness drives across these villages to sensitise the residents about keep their surroundings clean.
The 700 se 7 kadam initiative began with Dabur conducting a detailed survey of the villages to ascertain the status of household toilets. As per the data collected from village, it was observed that nearly 50 percent of households in most villages do not have individual toilets.
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