Bijnor village 1st used 'izzatghar' term in 2016

LUCKNOW: The term 'izzatghar' for toilets constructed under Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) was first used in Shekhoopura village of Bijnor district in 2016 but it gained prominence after Prime Minister

Nardendra Modi

was impressed by its use while laying the foundation of a toilet at Shahanshahpur in Varanasi in September, reports Neha Shukla.

The ODF-initiative of Bijnor will now be replicated across country as

Union ministry of drinking water

and sanitation (SBM-Gramin) has written to all states advising them to

name toilets as `izzatghar'

.

The letter (copy of which is with TOI) says, “It is a good practice that instils a sense of dignity and pride in the entire family for their toilet and will have a positive impact on usage“. It further says that other regions could come up with corresponding term in local language that signifies the equivalent of “house of dignity“.

Interestingly, village women chose the name after construction of toilet was linked to a marriage ritual in a workshop under Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) initiative in 2016.

“It started with Bijnor and is now being taken up all over the state. The ministry letter is another feather in our cap," said mission director, SBM (rural), Panchayati Raj department, Vijay Kiran Anand.

“During a triggering session (to trigger public sentiment to construct and use toilets) when we asked women about the `saat-vachan' (seven promises) they exchanged with their husbands during the marriage ritual, they said their husbands had promised to safe guard their `izzat' (dignity).But by letting you go in the open for defecation how are your husbands protecting your dignity? was the question to which the women had no answer,“ said CDO, Bijnor, Indramani Tripathi.

“The trigger for men was protecting the `izzat' of their wives, sisters and daughters.Thereon, it was decided that `ek ghar, ek izzatghar' would be our motto,“ he said.

Shekhoopura was the first village in UP to name toilets as `izzatghar' many of which were simple toilets with two pits and a wooden plank in a thatched set-up.Villagers did not even wait for the grant and got constructed them on their own.

“After the sensitization programme, people in at least 16 gram panchayats also returned the grant given to them to construct toilet. In 2016-17 and 2017-18, grants amounting to Rs 4 crores were returned by people,“ said the CDO.

Bijnore also terms ODF villages as `izzatgaon'. The district has

ODF-war-room

, ODF songs and even ODF nights to celebrate when a village is declared ODF.