Mumbai: Two poor women in a village of Sangli district in western Maharashtra, decided to pawn the little jewellery that they were given at the time of their marriage to build toilets of their own.

Both Sushila and Rukmini Dudhal of Agran Dhulgaon village in Kavathe Mahankal block were keen on taking up the state government’s scheme that offered a grant of Rs12,000 under the Swacch Maharashtra Abhiyan (Clean Maharashtra Campaign) for those who constructed a toilet within their homes.

Sushila, a widow, lives with her son and two daughters and says that all their lives they have had to go out in the open, “a practice which is abominable especially to women,” she told Gulf News on phone from her village. Both Sushila and Rukmini are in the below-poverty-line category and are farm workers, whenever they are able to get some jobs. Rukmini says her family, husband and two young children, is relieved that they finally have a toilet of their own.

“We had gone to Dhulgaon to hold this campaign and a training camp with our masons and workers to demonstrate how materials are purchased and toilets are constructed,” Ravikant Adsul, deputy CEO of Sangli Zilla Parishad (district council), told Gulf News on phone. “Around 30-35 villagers attended our camp and agreed to construct toilets by spending Rs12,000, an amount which would be deposited in their bank accounts later,” he said.

“Among them were these two women who also wanted to construct toilets but did not have the money. I told them to think of options to raise the funds.” And the duo immediately decided to pawn their chains, the auspicious ‘bormal’, worn by Maharashtrian women. During the five-day programme held in Agran Dhulgaon, the women went to a local jeweller to pawn their chains for which they were paid Rs10,000 each. They came back to us with their funds and were ready to get the construction going.

Impressed by their initiative, “we organised a small function last Thursday and felicitated both the women for their courage and social commitment. Now, we will ensure that they open a bank account where the state government’s subsidy amount can be deposited and they are able to get back their jewellery.”

Adsul also said this campaign is being conducted in 107 villages in Sangli district and “our target is to cover 22,000 households. We have already covered 10,000.” Agran Dhulgaon village has around 316 families and more than 50 per cent have their own toilets.

The state is carrying out a rigorous programme to put an end to the practice of open defecation, which is also prevalent across the country. District councils in the state have been reporting of the people’s eagerness to accept this scheme — that is gradually leading to cleanliness and better hygiene in the villages.

According to the target set for the mission, India is to be freed from open defecation by the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, that is October 2, 2019. Maharashtra has accepted the challenge and in rural areas there is a change of heart in the community with 7.45 million families now having their own toilets, putting rural sanitation in the state at 59 per cent. The number of families that do not have toilets is 5.07 million.