The Arunachal Pradesh government celebrated attainment of 100 per cent open defecation free (ODF) status under Swacch Bharat Mission (Gramin) at the Legislative Assembly Complex here on Friday. The State had become 100 per cent ODF on December 31 last year as per Base Line Survey (BLS)-2012 under SBM (Gramin). This made Arunachal the seventh in the country and second in the Northeast after Sikkim to be ODF. Chief Minister Pema Khandu credited the attainment to the people of the State. “The long strenuous journey, particularly because of the difficult and inaccessible terrain and communication bottlenecks, could not deter the strong determination of our dedicated SBM team and all stakeholders such as the villagers, PRI members, GBs, district administration and elected representatives,” Khandu said. The achievement is rare for the reason that it came a year and 10 months ahead of the national target of October 2, 2019, Khandu said amidst loud ovation. The Chief Minister, however, cautioned the department to maintain sustainability and continuity of the status. “The herculean task is to maintain the ODF status and not allow ugly head of open defecation to raise its head,” he said, seeing a sustained effort. “Now that 100 per cent ODF has been achieved at Gramin level, the urban areas need also to be declared cent per cent ODF,” Khandu said while directing the UD department to put in extra effort to achieve the target. Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his continuous encouragement, the Chief Minister mentioned the support rendered by the Union Ministry of Water and Sanitation and said that it was for them that the State could accomplish the mammoth task. Khandu also underlined the need for robust road, rail, air and digital connectivity that are gradually picking up pace in the State with support of the Centre. He said that with desired connectivity, unprecedented economic development will come to Arunachal Pradesh and appealed to all to be partners in the development process. PHE & WS Minister Bamang Felix endorsed the Chief Minister’s appeal for maintaining sustainability of the ODF status in the State. He called upon the department officers to tighten their belts and perform so that the State can flourish. Felix also highlighted the role of Deputy Commissioners in the district whose role is primary to make any State or Central programme successful. Felix said that in order to maintain sustainability, ODF should be imprinted in the minds of the people. Every citizen should take this as a religious responsibility, he asserted. He said the department of PHE & WS has set 2021 as the final target to provide drinking water to each household of the State as against the national target of 2022. He appreciated the gesture of CM and the minister concerned for their concerted effort and guidance in realising a seemingly impossible task. Earlier, Khandu flagged off 22 Bolero vehicles funded under National Vector-Borne Disease Control Programme in presence of Health Parliamentary Secretary Phurpa Tsering.