Women in this UP village starve themselves due to unavailability of toilets

The women of Gurgujja village in Uttar Pradesh's Hardoi avoid eating food in fear of the need to use a toilet. Majority of the population in the village are daily wage earners leaving them dependent on government schemes for the construction of toilets.

Hardoi (Uttar Pradesh):Several women residing in Gurgujja - a remote village in Uttar Pradesh's Hardoi didtrict - have been forced to silently adopt a rule - skip meals to avoid the need to relieve themselves owing to the unavailability of toilets.

Though the central government claims to have built toilets across the country under its much-hyped Swacch Bharat Mission, the plight of these starving women in Gurgujja has gone unnoticed by the authorities concerned.

When contacted by ETV Bharat, Gajendra Kumar, District magistrate, said, "A complaint has been received in this regard. A team will be constituted to identify the rightful beneficiaries of the various schemes and it would be ensured that they get the benefits of the schemes."

The majority of the population in the village are daily wage earners, and they can't afford to build toilets on their own, making them dependent on government schemes for the same.

Despite applying for the construction of toilets, the villagers did not receive any response from the village pradhan and authorities concerned.

In addition to the lack of toilets, the residents of this village have not received assistance under governments housing schemes despite being eligible for the same.

The villagers alleged that they were only provided Rs 2,500 for the construction of their houses. However, no further assistance was provided to them through government housing schemes.

The majority of people are residing in dilapidated houses in the village.