In a story that would warm the cockles of your heart, and possibly even bowels (excuse the pun), this year’s Mother’s Day brings to the fore a story that’s indeed one to be shared. In Uttar Pradesh’s Anantapur village, a 90-year-old woman sold five of her goats to collect enough money to construct a toilet for her 102-year-old mother-in-law.
The woman, Chandana, is now being hailed as an ambassador for the central government’s campaign to improve sanitation in rural India. Apparently, she’s sold off five goats to generate capital to build the toilet as no government authority helped her in this cause, says an ANI report.
80-year-old woman gifts a toilet to her 102-year-old mother-in-law by selling six goats in Kanpur’s Anantapur (Uttar Pradesh) pic.twitter.com/wSEgsAKAqu
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 14, 2017
My grandmother fell & fractured her leg. She was not able to move; then my mother sold goats to get a toilet constructed: Ramprakash pic.twitter.com/aaj0sq8dkN
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 14, 2017
Chandana says that the inspiration to build the toilet came on the day her mother-in-law had gone out for defecation and fell down, resulting in the centenarian to break her leg. The woman’s son, Ram Prakash, told ANI that the village sarpanch and Kanpur district authorities didn’t do anything even when his mother tried seeking help from them. It was then that she decided to build the toilet by herself.
Tired of having her pleas falling on the deaf ears of the government authorities, Chandana decided that she will take things in her own hand. In spite of being financially unstable, she gathered enough courage to take the decision to sell her goats for this special gift for her mother-in-law.
According to the ANI report, when contacted, the village sarpanch tried to shift the blame on the district authorities. He said, “We have time and again given list to the district authorities but till now not even one toilet has been constructed.”
The district officials appreciated Chandana’s determination and they said that they will conduct an enquiry into the matter.