Donating land for toilets: Sulabh honour for UP woman

Sulabh International Friday announced a Rs.2 lakh cash prize and Rs.10,000 every month dole to an Uttar Pradesh widow who donated her land for constructing a public toilet complex in a Bahraich village.

An official of the NGO said the example set by Manorani Yadav of Bhabhanipur village, had "set a glorious example" for the country, "badly in need of toilets, specially for women in villages".

Yadav, mother of six, first mobilised all the women in her village to construct toilets and then led them to meet Bahraich District Magistrate Kinjal Singh, requesting her to construct a public toilet complex in her village.

The DM took up the issue and arranged funds to build eight toilets in the village. But nobody, including government agencies, came forward to give land. Finally, Manorani offered her land.

Congratulating Manorani for her extraordinary step, Sulabh founder Bindeshwar Pathak said for a person, solely dependent on daily wages, taking such an initiative is highly commendable.

"Now, this one step has changed the situation and solved the problem of open defecation in the entire village ... India needs such women in each and every village that lacks basic sanitation facilities," he said.

"Manorani Yadav will serve as a sanitation motivator and be honoured at a programme in Lucknow Dec 3," a Sulabh official informed IANS.