87-Year-Old Takes 'Swachh' Lead, Builds Toilet In Her Village

Udhampur (Jammu and Kashmir):

An 87-year-old woman from Jammu and Kashmir has taken it upon herself to construct a toilet in her village to make open defecation free. Rakkhi, the octogenarian, from Badali village in Udhampur is single-handedly constructing a toilet near her house.

Recently, the district administration organised awareness camps in her village where she learnt about the ill effects of defecating in the open, and the importance of maintaining hygiene. Ms Rakkhi too got inspired and decided to construct a toilet.

As she can't afford to hire a mason, she decided to do things herself. Once her son fixed the mud for her, she staying laying the bricks, dressing them and the walls seem to be taking shape. She has given herself seven days to wrap up.

"I want everyone to use the toilet as defecating in open gives birth to all sorts of diseases. I am poor and don't have money to build a toilet, hence decided to build the toilet with my own hands without any constructed tool or help. My son made the mud for my toilet after which I levelled the bricks and did the masonry work," she told news agency ANI.

When Deputy Commissioner of Udhampur got to know about her, he promised to help her finish the task. While praised her work, he said, "It is time for people to change their mindset. I was shocked to know that an 87-year-old woman is building the toilet herself without any help. I salute the spirit of the woman and everyone should learn a lesson from her," he told ANI.

As part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's five-year project,  "Clean India" campaign, or Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, to provide toilets to more than 60 million homes by 2019, the whole country got together to do their bit for a cleaner future. From community projects to constructing toilets at individual level, the whole country has been witnessing the change.

Monika Ijardar from Chhattisgarh started her swachh journey at the age of 19 in 2014. Four years later, she has been successful in eradicating open defecation from 82 gram panchayats, four blocks and one district in Chhattisgarh. She knocked on doors, educated people on the need of having a toilet and trained them to construct a low-cost toilet at home.

In February, an underprivileged woman from Bihar set a rare example. Amina Khatoon begged to collect money to construct a toilet at her home. Moved by her commitment, a mason, and a labourer helped her and refused to take any money.

(With inputs from ANI)