BMC razes loo, wife walks out on priest

BHOPAL: A minor act of civic body -- razing a make-shift loo--brought about a major upheaval in marital life of a poor priest. He is bearing brunt of his wife’s anger for something he has no control over or a role to play.

Life turned upside down for the priest of small temple, Rajesh Tiwari, in Vidya Nagar locality, when Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) razed a temporary toilet built by Tiwari, terming it as an encroachment. Priest’s fuming wife Lalita deserted him, swearing to return only after the toilt is rebuilt. She has threatened divorce, if he fails to rebuild the toilet in a month. Now, 28-year-old poor priest is desperatly trying to get the toilet constructed to save his marriage. His efforts till now bore no fruits.

But his wife remains adamant. “How can I return when there is no toilet in the house. It is shameful to answer the nature’s call in open,” Lalita, 25, told TOI over phone. “I have no other issue with my husband. It is his responsibility to get a toilet constructed” she said. Tiwari lives in a small house near the temple, which has no toilet. “I once received Rs 1,100 for performing prayers. I put in some more money and constructed a toilet near my house with consent of residents of the area. It was a makeshift toilet. I used plastic covers to make up for walls as I had no money,” Tiwari told TOI. “I did this a year ago and it was only after the toilet was built that my wife came to live with me from the village. It was not a personal toilet, but was used by locals and devotees, who visited the temple,” he said.

Trouble began when the BMC razed the toilet in the last week of February. “My wife left home the very next day. Since then I have made endless rounds of government offices to get a toilet constructed. I requested them to construct a public toilet, if not personal one, but to no avail,” he said. Tiwari said he was under great pressure as his wife held out a threat of divorce. “I have heard a lot about the Swachh Bharat mission and toilets being constructed under the scheme. But nothing is being done for me. My married life hinges on toilet. I don’t get enough money to get a toilet constructed with my resources,” he pleaded.