Odisha girls refuse to marry into families without toilets

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Phulbani, Apr 15:

The tribal girls Bilabadi and Nahudimaha villages in Odisha’s Kandhamal district have decided not to marry in households where there are no toilets.

The two villages under Bandaguda panchayat of K Nuagaon block in the state have recently been declared ‘Swachha Grama’ (clean village) by the district collector.

In an event organized to mark the occasion, a tribal girl Manisa Rani Pradhan first pledged to not marry in a households without toilet which was supported by all other girls present in the event.

The villagers have built 59 toilets in Bilabadi and 15 in Nahudimaha recently without any government assistance. They also have constructed public toilets for the outsiders visiting the village.

Besides the two aforesaid villagers, another two villages—Gagarti and Mundasahi— under the panchayat have also been declared as Swachha Grama.

The district administration has decided to announce Bondaguda a Swachha Panchayat on August 15.

The villagers had constructed the toilets with the advice of SWATI and Knowledge Link, the two leading NGOs in the district, which had taken up sanitation drive in their village and educated them on hygiene and cleanliness.