Mumbai: Working towards the government’s push for an open defecation free State has landed the Solapur district administration in trouble, after two women were allegedly ‘felicitated’ with flowers and photographed for answering nature’s call in the open.
The incident took place on Friday in Chikmahud village, where Zilla Parishad CEO Rajendra Bharud had arrived early to spread awareness on building toilets. To get the message across that open defecation was not on as inoffensively as possible, officers accompanying Mr. Bharud presented flowers to villagers who were not using toilets, and took photos with them.
Among those accosted by the officers were two women, who were seen in a photograph with a group of ZP officers. One of the woman was wearing a garland said to be given by the officers. The photograph, which quickly spread on social media, led to public outrage. The Opposition alleged it was an attempt to ‘shame’ poor women.
Praniti Shinde, the Congress MLA from Solapur, said, “Does the district administration have the right to take photos of these poor women? Open defecation is a compulsion for them, and shaming them through such actions should be condemned in the harshest way. The concerned CEO must be suspended for this.”
She added, “I fail to understand the need to give flowers to the women and shame them. Do they do it for all, like men who spit or urinate in public? No excuses can be made for such behaviour.”
Refuting the allegations, Dr. Bharud told The Hindu , “Someone has provided wrong information and is trying to create a negative impact. The women [in the photo] were felicitated after they promised to build toilets in the next five days. Understand the reality.”
Adding to the confusion, a report by a local news channel on Dr. Bharud’s visit showed two other women surrounded by government officers and villagers, and being taunted for defecating in the open. Dr. Bharud didn’t comment on whether the women should have been garlanded in public.
Subhash Deshmukh, State Co-operation Minister and Guardian Minister for Solapur, said he was unaware of the incident. “I will seek information on this issue before commenting,” he said.
