Koppal women go FB live with their toilet woes. But do officials care?

Doing Facebook Live is a new fad these days. While it's a platform for celebrities to reach out to their fans, it has turned out to be a record of a sort to capture the events, live. But seldom one has used this option to mirror the woes of people without toilets, until Trishal and Irin of Hubli did it.

In Koppal's Babu Jag Jeevanram colony, not many homes have toilets. But even if there were, women were varied of using these toilets, thanks to its poor construction. As a result, women were left with no option to head to the fields early in the morning risking their lives from perverts.  Trishal, a native of Koppal who observed his neighbours ditching the toilets to fields, decided to do something about it. He approached Irin, who runs an NGO Happy Children Home in Hubli, to do something about it. Without wasting any time, Irin landed in Koppal and decided to do Facebook Live with the people in the hope to raise some funds to address the problem, Suvarna News.

When she approached women with her idea, they were initially reluctant to come live on Facebook and also speak on toilets. But Irin's persistence helped in breaking the ice and the women agreed to come on board.

During their live session, women blamed the lack of funds to build toilets. They also pointed out at the lack of water in their area that prevented them and others in the family from using the toilets. "There are aggressive campaigns to build toilets and use them by the government. But the ground truth is that majority of the areas in the town have no water facility. So, what's the point of having toilets," bemoaned women, Suvarna News.

After their live session, many youths and local organisations have promised to help rebuild toilets. But there has been no word from the authorities concerned to help these women.  

• build toilets
• koppal