MANANG: Manang district has been declared an Open  Defecation Free (ODF) zone.

Amidst a programme on Saturday, Local Development Officer Ramu Raj Kadariya of Manang District Development Committee declared the district to this effect.

Manang is the 39th district to be declared ODF zone in the country and the first after the country went into a federal set up.

With 1,275 households in four rural municipalities of the district, a total of 1265 households have constructed toilets, making the district ODF zone, said Madhu Timilsina, Chief of Department of Water Supply and Sanitation, Manang.

As 99.62 per cent households in the districts have toilets, added Timilsina, the declaration was made in line with the provision of declaring a district ODF zone if 90 per cent of  households have toilets.

Since 2011, with 53 percent households having access to toilets, the open  defecation free and sanitation drive have been launched in the district, according to Timilsina.

Manang Chief District Officer Sunil Khanal, the chief guest of the programme, said that the ODF declaration alone will not make any difference, giving continuity to this practice is a most, calling everybody to keep the vicinity clean.

Before making the ODF declaration, a rally was organised which rounded the district headquarters.

The programme was jointly organised by District Coordination Committee and District Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygine Coordination Committee.

Nepal has set a goal of declaring all 75 districts ODF zones by 2017.