Marry and get a toilet for free

SURAT: Register for a mass marriage and get a toilet free.
This is the incentive that Leuva Patels from Vallabhipur in Bhavnagar district are offering people of their community to help women maintain their dignity and encourage poor families to go for mass marriages.
The unique initiative has been announced by Vallabhipur Patidar Pragati Mandal (VPPM) that started organizing mass marriages in 2013.At least 100 couples are expected to tie the knots at the function in Vallabhipur in January 2015.
“We started the drive to encourage community members to opt for mass marriages so that they save on unnecessary expenses. Besides saving money, we also thought that it’s important to give women proper respect,” said Dilip Sheta, president of VPPM, reasoning the toilet incentive.
Batuk Jivani, co-convener of VPPM, said a large number of families from rural areas who come for mass marriages don’t have toilets in their houses. It is particularly disgraceful for women who have to go in open for defecation.
VPPM spends around Rs 50,000 per couple in mass marriages and pays for the food and provide household goods to each couple. Toilet will be an addition next year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had talked about the need to build toilets in his Independence Day speech.