BANDA: If you want to defecate in fields, pay Rs 40 per month. It's strange but true.

Dalits living in Bhujwan Purwa village near Attara have been paying this defecation charge for around last 15 years.

Also, there is another condition- women of a dalit family have to work for those in whose fields they defecate and that too on a meagre amount of Rs 70 per day.

If any family refuses to obey these rules, then they have to walk up to 3km to relieve themselves either on roadsides or in nearby jungle areas. In such cases, they have no choice but to adhere to conditions laid by upper caste families.

A total of 120 families of Thakurs, Vaishs and dalits live in Bhujwan Purwa village. About 60 families of dalits live here in which 40 families do not own a house.

Also, many do not have pucca houses and live in thatched homes. They thus do not have access to toilets also.

Last year gram panchayat had allotted one biswa land to the dalit families but some paperwork is still not complete.

The dalit villagers said MNREGA work is also not being appointed these days.

When approached, Antara SDM Awdesh Srivastava said he was not apprised of the situation.

"I will personally go to the village and take stock of the sitaution," he said.

Read this story in Hindi

Content courtesy: Navbharat Times

