Modi's bold toilet claim in question as India marks Gandhi's birthday

No water connections

Many of the toilets that have been constructed are without a water connection and even when they are connected, cultural barriers stop many Indians from using them, experts say.

Modi, 69, was set to make the grand announcement in his western home state of Gujarat on Wednesday evening in front of 20,000 village chiefs.

He was also due to visit the Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat, where Gandhi based himself for many years, and where 10,000 jars of treated human faecal matter were to be handed to guests, the Indian Express daily reported.

The nutrient-rich matter - sundried, sieved into a tea leaf-like consistency and packed into the glass jars together with seeds - will then sprout upon watering.

Before that, Modi early on Wednesday paid his respects to Gandhi, who was assassinated the year after India gained independence from Britain in 1947, at the Raj Ghat memorial in New Delhi.

He said on Twitter that India was expressing "gratitude to Mahatma Gandhi for his everlasting contribution to humanity. We pledge to continue working hard to realize his dreams and create a better planet."

Other events also took place nationwide including in a hospital room in Pune where Gandhi was operated on for appendicitis in 1924.

As many as 600 prisoners were also set to be released in an amnesty, media reports said.

Agence France - presse