Outside Mysuru’s suburban bus stand, an 85-metre wall had acquired a second purpose. For nearly 30 years, passing men had used it as a urinal. Warnings, railings and religious tiles failed to end this. In May 2026, the municipal corporation covered the stretch with reflective panels. Officials reported a 90 percent fall in offenders within a day. The city had finally found someone these men were reluctant to offend: themselves.
Yet there was a public toilet nearby, and it was barely used. That detail prevents an easy sermon about either municipal neglect or national character. A city can build a toilet and allow it to become filthy, unsafe or difficult to find. A citizen can pass a serviceable one and choose a wall. Provision without civic habit may remain unused. Civic injunction without usable provision becomes hypocrisy.