ALLAHABAD: Babupatti, the ancestral village of Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan - also an ambassador of Swachh Bharat Mission - in Raniganj tehsil of Pratapgarh district was declared open defecation free (ODF) on Tuesday, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The village falls under the jurisdiction of Gaura panchayat.Pratapgarh district officials built 140 toilets against the sanctioned 151 toilets within a short span of two-and-half months in Babupatti village which has a population of around 1,000 people, enabling it to get the ODF tag. Officials said that 11 toilets would be constructed within this week.Amitabh's father Harivansh Rai Bachchan had spent his early years at Babupatti before shifting to Allahabad. Ajay Krantikari, who ran the ODF campaign here, said: "Old timers used to share that senior Bachchan used to step down at Vishwanathganj railway station whenever would come to Babupatti along with his family members." A library in his memory was inaugurated by Jaya Bachchan Assistant development officer (ADO) of Gaura panchayat, Kamlesh Shukla, told TOI, "The Babupatti village has finally got ODF tag after 140 toilets were built. The department had sanctioned 151 toilets in the village." Before starting toilet construction, the district authorities had conducted a survey of village and found that 26 families had already built toilets and 14 others had built them under various government housing schemes. "The news of Babupatti village becoming ODF will also make Amitabh Bachchan happy as he has been constantly promoting izzatghar," said a villager.

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