Mission possible: A toilet in less than a day

Panchayat officials of Kukkodu village build it gratis for teen who could not persuade father

Mudigere Taluk Panchayat officials at work to build the toilet at Kukkodu village near Mudigere.

A 16-year old girl in a Karnataka village who could not convince her father to get a toilet built at home got the facility as a gift – in under a day.

Sunitha of Kukkodu village near Mudigere had no toilet at home when she left for school in Kalasa on Saturday. But it was nearly ready when she returned in the evening.

The high-speed operation was undertaken by panchayat officials who were moved by the girl’s persistence. Her father, Sheshe Gowda, had refused to go in for a toilet.

Sunitha narrated her story to a visiting team led by Taluk Panchayat executive officer M.N. Gurudath. She said she and her mother, Seethu, had failed to sway her father. Moreover, every time they raised the demand, they got a hostile reaction. “My father drinks his earnings away,” she said.

The officers tried to convince Sheshe Gowda to use Swachh Bharat Abhiyan funding to build a toilet. But he refused, leaving the girl in tears.

Completed by dusk

“We were moved by what we saw. We decided to do it ourselves. We collected tools from the neighbourhood and started digging work and summoned the material needed. The girl left for her morning class. When she returned, the toilet was nearly ready,” said Mr. Gurudath.

“Using a couple of masons, we laid the foundation and completed the walls. I will never forget the joy in her eyes when she saw it,” the officer said.

Personal donation

The officers have decided to bear the Rs.22,000 that the toilet cost, and let the family keep the subsidy of Rs.12,000 for the girl’s education. Kukkodu, in Kalasa Grama Panchayat has 160 households without toilets.