E-Paper
Swachh Bharat Mission: Two millionth toilet comes up in rural Gorakhpur
The beneficiary was 50-year-old Snehlata, from Dumri, who believed that this toilet would greatly help not only her family, but also the community’s life
The inauguration of a newly constructed toilet in a house in the remote town of Dumri, in Sardarnagar, Gorakhpur, turned out to be an auspicious occasion as it marked the two millionth toilet constructed by the FINISH (Financial Inclusion Improves Sanitation and Health) Program, after having hit the one million mark in 2019.
The beneficiary of the two millionth toilet was 50-year-old Snehlata, from Dumri, who believed that this toilet would greatly help not only her family, but also the community’s life. The toilet is a twin-pit toilet which has an in-built mechanism for converting human waste into manure.
From 2021-2023, a total of 1,08,447 toilets have been constructed in Uttar Pradesh under this initiative, second only to Bihar with 2,07,206 toilets.
The sanitation loans given out by Sonata Microfinance via the FINISH Program have been a step towards progress for communities of all the beneficiaries across the country. Coincidentally, the millionth toilet to be inaugurated was also in Uttar Pradesh, in Chakia tehsil of Chandauli, constructed by villager, 50-year-old Nirmala Devi.
Speaking at the inauguration of the toilet Snehlata had constructed, she said that all four of her daughters were now able to use proper toilets rather than the more unhygienic practices they were forced to follow. She said, “Now that the toilet is being used regularly, those dreadful days when my four daughters would brave terrible weather and head out at the crack of dawn to attend to nature’s call, are over. Once the toilet was built, life transformed, and open defecation has become a thing of the past.”
The FINISH Program launched the initiative in 2014, to construct toilets across the country, as part of the Swachh Bharat Mission. These toilets are built for beneficiaries in rural areas who receive a sanitation loan to construct toilets in these areas.
The NGO has set a target for hitting the 3.5 million-toilet mark by the end of 2025, by reaching out to more such beneficiaries in rural areas who are in need of proper sanitation systems in their houses or villages.
