Octogenarian inspires her community to build toilets

Life was a struggle for Chinta Devi (80+) who suffered from some form of mental illness. As if the strains of having to make ends meet through farming activities were not enough, she had been going out to defecate in the open for as long as she could remember. It was a practice followed for generations – representing immense challenges for the elderly, particularly during monsoons and winters. She lived with her widowed daughter-in-law Rajavanti Devi (wife of late Biswamohan Singh) and four grandsons in Bandichapra Village (Baligaw panchayat, Parsa Block) in Saran district of Bihar. About 40 households lived in that village, all of who did not own toilets.