A quote in an advertisement jingle promoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s favourite ‘Swachh Bharat’ programme on television channels says, ‘A thought will get you a toilet.’
True to the spirit of this advertisement, sought to be driven down to the grassroots across rural India, R. Gita, who was engaged to R. Bhaskar, a native of this village, with an estimated population of 3,000 people, made her in-laws construct a toilet before the wedding was performed.
It began in April when the alliance was finalised and it was agreed that Ms. Gita, a resident of Chandi near Toopran would get married to Mr. Bhaskar. The groom has a landholding and also gives his tractor on hire for farm operations. She then came to know that there was no toilet in her in-laws’ house, adjacent to vast farm lands belonging to other villagers, for many of whom, a toilet was a distant dream.
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Ms. Gita asked her brother Gudem Krishna to convince her in-laws to construct a toilet before the wedding as she was not ready to move in without a toilet. Instead of getting furious at the demand, Mr. Bhaskar’s family was convinced and in four days, they spent a few thousands of rupees on constructing a toilet.
“Why should we get irritated when Gita asked for a genuine facility? Will it be used only by her? All of us will use it, right?” asked Nagamani, the mother-in-law, who never had access to a toilet for over five decades.
“I feel having a toilet is a basic requirement and did not hesitate to put my condition before them. Luckily, they responded positively. This is very important in view of health and honour,” Ms. Gita told
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“From the beginning, she has been particular about hygiene,” said Gudem Krishna, Gita’s brother. However, the question of whether they will get subsidy from the government still remains hanging.
On Gita’s insistence, her in-laws constructed a toilet in the house