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A Man In Rajasthan Sold His Goat, Wife's Jewellery To Build A Toilet At Home

A Man In Rajasthan Sold His Goat, Wife's Jewellery To Build A Toilet At Home
TO GO WITH India-health-women-crime-social,FOCUS BY ABHAYA SRIVASTAVA In this photograph taken on August 29, 2014, an Indian labourer paints a newly-constructed toilet provided by the Sulabh International NGO in the Hirmathala village of Mewat district in the state of Haryana. Decorated with marigolds and ribbons, 108 toilets unveiled in a tragedy-hit village are a small step in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push to end open-air defecation for impoverished Indian women. AFP PHOTO/Prakash SINGH (Photo credit should read PRAKASH SINGH/AFP/Getty Images)
PRAKASH SINGH via Getty Images
TO GO WITH India-health-women-crime-social,FOCUS BY ABHAYA SRIVASTAVA In this photograph taken on August 29, 2014, an Indian labourer paints a newly-constructed toilet provided by the Sulabh International NGO in the Hirmathala village of Mewat district in the state of Haryana. Decorated with marigolds and ribbons, 108 toilets unveiled in a tragedy-hit village are a small step in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push to end open-air defecation for impoverished Indian women. AFP PHOTO/Prakash SINGH (Photo credit should read PRAKASH SINGH/AFP/Getty Images)

There's a lot to learn from Kantilal Roat, a daily wager from a village in Rajasthan.

Recently, some social workers campaigning for the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan reached out to Roat's family and explained to him the importance of hygiene and the risks of open defecation.

He was told that he will get Rs 4000 each from the centre, the state government and from the municipality if he constructs a toilet in his house.

The tribal labourer started the work and got down to building a toilet at his home.

He received the first two installments of Rs 4,000 each, but soon ran out of money while the construction was still under way. So, Roat decided to earn some money by selling his assets. He sold one of his goats and mortgaged his wife's silver anklet to raise Rs 9,000.

"The goat fetched me Rs 5,000 while we got Rs 4,000 for the anklet, which my wife had received as a wedding gift from her parents," said Roat.

"He started digging work all by himself and constructed a structure with the help of some labourers after he got the first installment. The amount he got was spent in construction work. When he had no money to pay labourers, he sold one of his five goats for Rs 5000 and mortgaged silver ornaments of his wife and made the payment," K K Gupta, Vice Chairman of Muncipality Dungarpur told PTI.

Roat's mother said she understood the hardships her two daughters-in-law faced while defecating in the open. "Even if it meant mortgaging our hut, I would have willingly done so for their honour and dignity," she added.

Dungarpur municipal corporation chairman K K Gupta felicitated the family for the feat, and released the last installment of Rs 4,000. Roat was also awarded Rs 4,000 to get his wife's anklet back.

(With inputs from PTI)

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.