Bollywood movie Toilet – Ek Prem Katha starring Akshay Kumar was based on the toilet problem in rural areas and emphasised on sanitation.But in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, many revolted over the same. Brides turned against their mother-in-laws because the in-laws did not have a toilet. These innocent daughters have clearly said that they will not go back till a toilet is constructed. Now government officials are trying to cover the matter, because Open defecation free (ODF) has been declared on Kushinagar’s papers.
In Jagdishpur Tola Bharpatia, forest of Padrauna tehsil, about eighteen daughters- in-law have left their homes. The brides say that they are having a lot of trouble without having toilets and they will remain in the maternal house until the toilets are built. This rebellion of daughters-in-law remains a matter of discussion in the entire area.These daughters-in-law, who bring the truth of toilet construction, say that there is a drain on one side of the village and a canal on the other side, which is used for water all around. In such a situation, till the toilets are built in the in-laws, they will not go there. Tola Bharpatia has a population of about 1000 and most of the people here are not financially well-off.
Under Kushinagar Swachh Bharat Mission, about 4 lakh toilets were to be built in Kushinagar district. Kushinagar district was declared ODF on 30 November 2018. Jagdishpur village was also ODF along with Kushinagar district, but most of the poor people of Tola Bharpatia of this village do not have toilets even today. The village head and district panchayat officials are referring to the management information system (MIS) and the list. However, the responsibility of conducting MIS also lies on the shoulders of the village head, block and DPRO. In such a situation, no one is able to answer how the poor did not get the toilets.
According to local people, all of these are marriages within last two years. Before marriage, the women had placed a condition of building toilets in front of their in-laws, but this did not happen. They said that during heavy rains they had to go out for defecation. So they decided to go to their maternal homes.
When asked about this, Chief Development Officer Anand Kumar said, “The fact that the women of Jagdishpur village have left the house due to lack of toilets in their in-laws’ house has come to notice”. The District Panchayati Raj officer visited the village and in-laws of the women. He said, “Toilets have already been built for people whose names were in the government list. Toilets are being arranged for others”.
He claimed to start construction of public toilets in the village. Village President Ram Naresh Yadav also said that due to lack of names in the list, toilets have not been built in some houses.
