In a touching gesture, a 90-year-old woman in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur district sold her five goats to construct a toilet for her 102-year-old mother-in-law.
When everyone else was celebrating Mother’s Day with chocolates, bouquets and cupcakes, Chandana from Kanpur Dehat (Anantapur) gave her mother-in-law a unique gift. She can also be seen as an ambassador for the Central Government’s campaign to improve sanitation in rural India.
According to an ANI report, Chandana sold her five goats to generate capital to build the toilet as no government authority helped her in this cause. She said that the day her mother-in-law had gone out for defecation and fell down and broke her leg was when she decided to have a toilet built for her.
Chandana’s son Ram Prakash said that the village sarpanch and 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.
Chandana facing rejection from the government authorities decided that she will take things in her own hand. Despite being financially weak, she gathered courage and sold her goats for this special gift for her mother-in-law.
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.
(With ANI inputs)
