Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Days after he kicked up a row by stating that there are more temples than toilets in India,Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh Sunday urged women not to marry into families that do not have toilets in their homes.
Dont get married in a house where there is no toilet, he told a gathering,mostly of women,at Khajuri village near Kota. You consult astrologers about rahu-ketu or planetary positions before getting married. You should also look whether there is a toilet at your grooms home before you decide to get married.
Ramesh,who launched the third edition of Nirmal Bharat Yatra at Sangod here,cited a slogan coined by the Haryana government,No toilet,no bride.
Ramesh also narrated the story of Anita Narre,who left her husbands home in Madhya Pradesh two days after her wedding when she found the house didnt have a toilet. Noting that sanitation is an
issue related to womens dignity and safety,Ramesh said Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan is a peoples movement aimed at eradicating the menace of open defecation in 10 years.
The Rural Development
Minister also criticised Rajasthan for not doing enough to provide proper sanitation facilities to the people.
He pointed out that of the 9,177 gram panchayats in Rajasthan,only 321 have become free from open defecation.
