For this family in UP village, kitchen is where toilet is!

A family residing in UP's Barabanki's Akanpur village is using a toilet constructed under Swachh Bharat Mission as their kitchen. The family asserted that they are helpless as they do not have a proper house to reside in.

"We are not using this as a toilet as we do not have a house to live in. So, it is being used as a kitchen and we ourselves feel bad about it. We were not given a house under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana so we are helpless.

I have to go in the open to urinate," said one of the family members, Malti, to this correspondent. Malti has urged the government to provide them with a house to solve their issue.

Her husband Ram Prakash said, "I know it is wrong to use the toilet as a kitchen but what should we do? We have been doing this for one year now."

When asked, District Magistrate (DM) Dr Adarsh Singh has stated that action will be taken against the person responsible.

"We will probe the matter and if it is found that the person (who is using the toilet as a kitchen) was provided with the amount but he did not build the toilet, then he will be asked to build the toilet immediately else action will be taken against him. If the village head has something to do with it then action will be taken against him," said Singh.

"People who are in the eligibility list will be provided with a house under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. If one is eligible then they will be definitely provided with a house, but we have not received any application from their side yet," he added.

On being asked about the pictures of the toilet constructed under the Swachh Bharat Mission that are usually circulated, the DM said that the people who click these photos are not really government employees. Rather they are the locals of the village itself who are given incentive for their work.

"Expecting them (locals) to have the knowledge about several schemes under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, is a bit far-fetched. Our aim is that if a woman doesn't have an accommodation then we will try to provide them with it immediately," said Singh.

Pramod, a local resident said that despite the availability of toilets in the village people do not use it and prefer to go outside to defecate.

"Many toilets are pending for construction and those who have access to toilets, do not utilise them as the village head is not willing to complete the construction work.

In fact, we do not even have a drainage system here and roads here are not constructed properly. We have submitted a complaint to the village secretary regarding the toilets here, but nobody has taken cognisance of it so far," he added.