Nadia wins UN award for sanitation project: Mamata

The "Abar Souchagar" (toilet for all) project in West Bengal's Nadia district, aimed at promoting sanitation, has won the prestigious United Nations Public Service Award, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday.

"It is a matter of pride that Nadia has been declared as the First Place Winner for the 2015 United Nations Public Service. We have won award through a tough competition with multiple entries from 187 countries," Banerjee said at an event in Namkhana in South 24 Parganas district.

Banerjee on April 30 declared Nadia as the first 'Open Defecation Free' district in the country.

"The award will be handed over by the UN Secretary-General on June 23, 2015, in Medellin, Colombia," said Banerjee.

Apart from the UN, UK-based Loughborough University has also selected the project as "an inspiring district-level model for eliminating open defecation in India", and it would be felicitated at the 38th WEDC International Conference in London in July 2015, she added.

Banerjee took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet "Swachh Bharat" mission.

"While there is much publicity and fanfare around 'Swachh Bharat' mission, Bengal is silently and with determination delivering development goals," said the chief minister.