Woman wants divorce for not constructing toilet

A woman in a Bihar village has demanded a divorce from her husband for not constructing a toilet in their house.

Alakh Niranjan of Sadeshopur village near Bihta town in Patna district is a worried man as his wife is upset over being forced to make her way to an open field every day under the cover of darkness to defecate.

The case has come to light when Niranjan's wife approached a women helpline here seeking help for divorce.

"She is not ready to live with her husband. In fact, absence of a toilet has forced her to demand a divorce," said Sarita Sajal, a women's helpline counsellor.

The woman has told the helpline that Niranjan has been beating her for demanding the construction of toilet, Sajal said.

"Since 2009, my husband has been promising and assuring me to construct the toilet but it is yet to be built. Whenever I insisted for it, he thrashed me. Now I have decided not to live with him," Niranjan's wife said.

However, Niranjan has again assured her he would soon build the toilet.

"I failed to built the toilet due to financial problems but will do it now to save our marriage," Niranjan said.

Sajal said the women's helpline has called the couple at the end of May to resolve the dispute.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced last November that his government was committed to providing toilets to all.

He said open defecation was an affront to human dignity and the government will ensure that this problem is addressed soon.

Bihar has a population of over 10.5 crore, of whom 2.19 crore lack toilet facilities. The central government had planned to construct 1.11 crore toilets in the state in 2013.