KANPUR (Web Desk) – A woman in India refused to marry a man because he failed to get a toilet built at his residence in time for the wedding.
She later got married to another man Sarvesh, who had a toilet at his house, at a mass wedding, the Hindu reported.
Neha, who had to be married in a mass ceremony, pestered for the need of a toilet at the groom’s house since the marriage was fixed, but the family did not keep its promise.
Facilitated by a local NGO, the match between the 25-year-old woman hailing from Lucknow and the man was finalised after he agreed to her demand that a toilet be built at his house by the date of the wedding, which was to be organised as part of a mass ceremony on Sunday.
However, the woman, who has completed high school education, called off the wedding on Saturday after she found that the toilet had not been built.
The woman’s family members backed her, the NGO said.
Neha said she was inspired to take the step by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Clean India Mission’, which aims to create awareness among people for need of cleanliness at public places and use of toilets.
“They had promised to build a toilet but did not fulfill their promise. And nowadays, everywhere, even in villages, having a toilet is important. When our Prime Minister has taken an initiative towards this, then the public should also take advantage of it,” said Neha on Sunday.
Neha called off the wedding four days before the scheduled wedding date, which forced the relatives and family members to rush to find a new suitor.
Since taking office, Modi has repeatedly lamented the poor state of sanitation and public cleanliness in India, vowing to solve the problems during his tenure of five years.
More than 72% of rural people in India relieve themselves behind bushes, in fields or by roadsides. The share is barely shrinking. Of the 1 billion people in the world who have no toilet, India accounts for nearly 600 million.
