Bhopal: 18 women participate in govt's 'Lota Daud' campaign against open defecation

On Tuesday, October 12, the local administration of Bhopal launched a one-of-a-kind campaign in which women in the district's Phanda Kala village ran with a water pot in their hands to send a message against open defecation to their daughters-in-law. To discourage ladies from defecating in public, the district administration organised an event named 'Lota Daud,' in which 18 elderly women competed in a race while holding water pots.

The women's participation was to deter their daughters-in-law from experiencing the same hardships they did owing to lack of restrooms. The event's goal was to make as many people aware of the importance of using restrooms as possible.

"Earlier there were no toilets, mothers-in-law used to go to the fields. Now those mothers are saying that I have got toilets made in the home and the government is arranging for water. Therefore, now my daughter-in-law will go to the bathroom inside the house and will live with respect," said Vikas Mishra, CEO, Zila Panchayat, Bhopal.

The winner of 'Lota Daud' was determined by the amount of water left in the pot after the race. After reaching the finish line, the winner threw aside the pot, implying that women in the village no longer need to carry these water pots for open defecation. "Through this competition, we are giving a message to the entire society against an evil practice where women were left with no option but to go out in open spaces for defecation," said Tara Prajapati, a local resident. 

Centre provided 10 cr toilets to women in last 7 years

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah emphasised the Centre's efforts to help the underprivileged on Tuesday, saying that over 10 crore women had been provided with toilets and four crore families now had access to electricity. Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated at the 28th National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Foundation Day programme, "In the last seven years, about 60 crore underprivileged people have been taken care of through government schemes, they felt assured that there’s somebody for them. 10 crore women have been provided with toilets, about four crore houses provided access to electricity." 

With inputs from ANI

Image: ANI