Dumka DC orders toilet in every house after girl's suicide

DUMKA: Dumka deputy commissioner Rahul Kumar Sinha, on Saturday, ordered that all households in the district should have lavatories, in a direction to the public health and sanitation. The order came after a lack of lavatories led seventeen-year-old girl to commit suicide.
Khusboo Kumari (17) who was studying in BA part one in a local college, committed suicide on Friday morning after heated exchange of words with her parents who were reluctant to construct a lavatory despite her persuasion.
Through a press release issued by the district public relation office, Sinha said, "It is imperative on part of the authorities concerned to launch a massive drive for identifying households lacking in the lavatory facilities. If a particular village or locality does not fall under the Nirmal Gram Yojna massive awareness drive launched to encourage people to construct lavatories in their households, the administration will provide whatever help necessary for the purpose." the press release of the public relation department has quoted the deputy commissioner as saying.
Khusboo's death has raised questions on the efficacy of the ongoing swacchata abhiyan launched by the union government apart from the previous schemes of the union and the state government on santitation.
Dumka SP Vipul Shukla while expressing deep concern over the incident said the society must take a lesson from this incident.
Meanwhile, Sulabh International founder Bindeshwar Pathak on Saturday called the Dumka suicide incident tragic and said it shows that it is tough for women to manage without a toilet in the house.
Pathak was referring to a suicide by a minor girl in Dumka, Jharkhand, after her parents refused to build a toilet in their house.
"This is a tragic incident, difficult to describe. It shows how tough it is for women without a toilet in the house. The girl kept on insisting to get a toilet built. The father should have taken her demand seriously," Pathak said.