DHAKA: Children armed with whistles will soon be patrolling villages in central India to try to shame those defecating in the open.

A report said Sunday, according to The Straits Times.

Madhya Pradesh state government is expected soon to launch the unusual sanitation initiative, in which schoolchildren will blow their whistles loudly when they spot someone squatting in the open instead of using a toilet.

Open defecation has long been a major health and sanitation problem in India, with prime minister Narendra Modi saying every household should have a toilet within four years.

But a Madhya Pradesh official said many preferred to relieve themselves in the open rather than use a toilet, requiring unusual efforts to halt the practice which spreads disease.

BDST: 2056 HRS, NOV 02, 2014