Parishad chief 'garlands' women for open defecation

After the photo of garlanded woman went viral, Solapur Zilla Parishad CEO Dr Rajendra Bharud has denied allegations of circulating the photograph of the woman. Bharud had garlanded the woman in front of villagers for defecating in the open.

Dr Bharud had visited the Chikamhud village in Sangola Taluka of Solapur district last week to interact with villagers and addressed the issue of Swachh Bharat campaign and the need for becoming open defecation-free.

Dr Bharud visited areas identified, which are used by villagers for defecation. Dr Bharud along with local self-help group women and a few youngsters visited these spots with the Good Morning Squad, which felicitates the person resorting to open defecation.

During his visit, women who were found defecating in the open were garlanded. Their photos were captured during the felicitation and sent to the local media for publicity.

While Dr Garud was criticised for insulting the village women by embarrassing them in public, he has claimed that the photos were not circulated by him or his office.