It was a 'beauty contest' but of a different kind. The competitors were toilets.
In an attempt to create awareness among people and encourage them to make their villages Open Defecation Free (ODF), the administration in Uttar Pradesh's Badayun district, about 300 kilometre from Lucknow, organised a ''beauty contest'' of the toilets.
The contest titled 'Mera Shauchalaya sabse achha beauty contest' (My toilet is the best) was held at Gurupuri Vinayak village in the district on Wednesday, according to the officials.
The residents of the village had constructed beautifully designed, neat and clean toilets, which were inspected by the district magistrate Dinesh Kumar Singh.
According to officials five most, ''beautiful'' toilets were selected from among scores of them. Their proud owners were felicitated with cash prizes and appreciation letters from the district administration.
The first prize was bagged by Jitendra Kumar. Singh said that the district administration would provide additional funds for the development of the village. ''It was mainly aimed at creating an awareness among the people about cleanliness and promote construction of toilets,'' he added.
The officials said that more such competitions would be held at different villages in the district in the days to come. ''Five most beautiful toilets will be selected in every village and their owners will be rewarded,'' Singh said.