Have toilet, will travel...

And you thought your drivers test was too demanding. If expanded to apply to soap and toilet paper, this could keep some Europeans off the road permanently.

No toilet? Forget about that dream car

Bangalore: If the Karnataka government implements a new proposal, a driving license won’t be enough for those who want to drive a car or ride a bike in the state. In addition you will need, hold your breath, a ‘toilet possession certificate’. The state government has come up with a novel idea to improve sanitation conditions. It proposes to make it mandatory for those who want to get their vehicles registered to have toilets in their houses. The proposal was prompted by the fact that very few households in rural areas, especially in northern Karnataka, have their own toilets. People in these parts still prefer answering nature's call in the open. The most glaring example of this is Chief Minister Dharam Singh's assembly constituency Jewargi where 99 per cent of the houses do not have toilets." This is not just the case with the poorer sections of society. Even the relatively affluent households are guilty on this count. Therefore, we thought that by making toilet possession a prerequisite for registering vehicles, we can get at least affluent people to adopt hygienic sanitary practices,” said Rural Development Minister Basavaraj Horatti.As per the proposed law, RTOs will register only those vehicles whose owners furnish ‘toilet possession certificates’ issued by the concerned gram panchayat.For below poverty line families, the state government is already providing an incentive of Rs 500 for constructing toilets.The government also plans to revive its earlier proposal for making toilet possession mandatory for those who wish to contest panchayat elections."I have already held discussions with the law minister and the advocate general about the feasibility of bringing in a legislation to implement these rules. We hope to introduce a bill to this effect during the next legislature session," Horatti added.
-- Mumbai Mirror