Anita Gangopadhyay, 59, an ICDS worker from Nadia’s Karimpur, lords over a 1km stretch of road in the Ramkrishnapally area for several hours every day. Armed with a wooden stick, Anita guards the area to keep it free of the menace of open defecation.

“It is an incorrigible bad habit that we have grown used to in this area and country. But people like Anitadi realise the importance of eradicating this, and they are our hope,” said Nantu Mandal, a resident of the town bus stand area here.

“For long, the 1km stretch alongside the bus stand would be used by people as a toilet. It used to ruin the atmosphere of our neighbourhood,” Mandal added.

“She reprimands people who she sees defecating here, and if that doesn’t work, she flaunts her stick in the air,” said another resident of the area, adding that Anita had grown to be admired among residents of the town.

Asked about her reputation, Anita said she was not interested in public acknowledgement. Her interest, she insisted, lay firmly in civic propriety and public health standards.

“I need no money or accolades for my work. My only satisfaction is in people realising my objective and giving up committing such acts on the street side,” she said.

Anita, who lives alone since her daughter got married a few years ago, has worked as a sahayika (assistant) at the Anandapally ICDS centre for several years. After her three-hour shift ends at 10am every day, instead of going home, she heads straight to the Ramkrishnapally bus stand area.

“We see Anitadi patrol the area relentlessly till 6 or 7pm everyday. Only in the afternoon, her daughter Mithu brings her homemade lunch, and they eat it together in the shade of a tree,” said a resident of the area.

Sources said that the defecation menace in the area was an old one, dating back to when there was no bus stand or businesses in the area. A few years ago, a government primary school was constructed in the area, causing many residents to raise their concern over the open waste area nearby.

“It used to be a much larger public health hazard,” said a local trader, adding that Anita’s efforts had become noticeable in the area.

“Seeing Anitadi, people of the area also dare to raise their voice now. Now that many other establishments are coming up in the area, this is important,” they said.

Referring to notice boards put up by the local administration in the bus stand area regarding refraining from “committing public nuisance”, Anita added, “Nothing worked. For many years I used to point at those boards, but people did not bother. These days, I embarrass them by pointing them out with my stick and yelling.”

Last year, Anita said, public toilets were constructed in an area adjacent to the bus stand. But they remained unused by people who resorted to the closest area soon after getting off the bus.

The issue is significant in Naida because in 2015, the district won a United Nations award for being the first district in India to achieve “open defecation free” status.

According to reports, their flagship Sabar Sauchagaar (toilets for all) programme had extended public toilet usage to 100 per cent. The district had sourced funds from Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, and the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM).

Asked this week, a senior district official said he was not aware of the “Ramkrishnapally defecation menace” in Karimpur town, claiming instead that “local panchayat authorities” should have clamped down on the menace.

Tehatta SDO Aneesh Dasgupta said they would assess the situation soon.

“We are supposed to act whenever we receive such reports. We will look into the area and will encourage people to use public toilets,” he said.

Responding to a seeming disparity between ground realities in Karimpur and the reported achievements of their sanitation project, Dasgupta said that Ramkrishnapally had been left out of the most recent survey because of newer constructions that had come up there. “The situation there will improve soon because we have just got a sanction for 5,300 new toilets in the area,” he said, adding that he had been informed about Anita’s efforts.

“Her work has been commendable. If possible, I will meet her and try to involve her in public awareness projects,” he added.

Anita, however, has remained steadfast in her mission. “Let the authorities do their duty. I will do mine until people become aware,” she said.

Anita’s daughter, Mithu — who is married and lives nearby in Karimpur — said she admired but was also worried for her mother. “I keep telling her to take more care of her health. She is working half the day everyday,” Mithu said, adding that she cooked a warm lunch for her mother every afternoon and took it to her at her vigil spot. “It is the least I can do for her,” she added.