No toilet? Power to UP village cut off

Shahira Naim

Tribune News Service

Lucknow, September 13

Electricity connections of hundreds of households have been snapped in Sarojini Nagar and Mohanlalganj blocks of Lucknow for allegedly failing to build toilets in their houses.

Villagers said they had asked their Block Development Officers for some more time to build toilets, but to no avail and their power connections were snapped. Sarojini Nagar BDO Ajay Pratap said power supply would be resumed once people started cooperating.

Earlier, in Hamirpur district of Bundelkhand, the administration had undertaken wall writing at panchayat bhawans warning villagers of withdrawal of their pension, gas connections, suspension of electricity supply, ration cards and MNREGA job cards if they continued to defecate in the open after September 15.

Swachch Bharat Mission Director Vijay Anand initially denied any such punitive move to make UP Open Defecation Free. When confronted with photographs of wall writings, he assured to get it probed.

Such warnings have been issued on behalf of the gram panchayat in Mihuna and Sheikhupura villages of Hamirpur. The mission director also assured to get the Lucknow disconnections probed.

Principal Secretary, Panchayati Raj, Chanchal Kumar Tiwari denied any such orders having been passed from Lucknow.

NO MERCY 

• Electricity connections of hundreds of households have been snapped in Sarojini Nagar and Mohanlalganj blocks of Lucknow district for allegedly failing to build toilets in their houses
• According to villagers, they had asked their respective Block Development Officers for some more time to build toilets, but to no avail and their power connections were snapped.