Flushed out for failing to flush

Officials in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh are being removed from their elected seats for not constructing flushing toilets.

Bilaspur district administration says it has sacked about 100 members for not building toilets in their homes.

Many people in India do not have access to flush toilets or other latrines.



But under new local laws, representatives are obliged to construct a flush toilet within a year of being elected. Those who fail to do so face dismissal.

The law making toilets mandatory has been introduced in several Indian states as part of the "sanitation for all" drive by the Indian government.

The programme aims to eradicate the practice of open defecation, which is common in rural and poor areas of India.