Wall of Shame to stop outside defecation

West Bengal’s Nadia district uses a ‘wall of shame’ to stop villagers from attending nature’s call in the open fields. Names and photographs of those who defecate in the open are pasted on a village wall. The district, which has a population of 5.2 million, strives to achieve the target of 100 per cent open defecation-free status by 2019.

This is being done to attach a sense of stigma and shame for those defecating in the open. We have constructed around 95 per cent toilets so far but this is not enough as people who have been going out in the open (to defecate) since generations cannot be expected to use toilets suddenly. Once they start using toilets their names would be restored.