DARCHULA: Darchula district has been declared the open defaecation free (ODF) zone amid a grand function on Tuesday.

Chief of District Coordination Committee Karbir Singh Karki made an announcement for ODF by reading out a commitment paper.

Chief Minister of Province No. 7 Trilochan Bhatta also attended the programme.

The announcement was made after all 26,026 households in the district built the toilets apart from public toilets which were also built to promote ODF.

Then Dhara VDC of the district was declared as the first ODF zone in 2009 with a plan to declare ODF to the district in 2016.

Access to sanitation has reached cent per cent in the district with 97 per cent improved toilet intervention.

During the programme, chief of district drinking water and sanitation sub division chief Prakash Bahadur Rawal informed that so far 124. 1 million was spent in the ODF campaign.