Nagpur to manufacture rlys' green toilets?

NAGPUR: The Indian Railways is finalising a proposal to manufacture new design eco-friendly toilets in Nagpur in a step towards its commitment for cleaner environment and to prevent damage to rail tracks. "Efforts are on for installation of greentoilets in trains and field trials are on for the purpose. These newly designedeco-friendly lavatories are likely to be manufactured in Nagpur," a seniorrailway ministry official said. The proposal for manufacturinggreen toilets in Nagpur is likely to find a mention in the railway budget onFebruary 25. However, local railway officials say they have no communicationabout it.Talking to TOI, Central Railway divisional railwaymanager (DRM) D K Sharma said, "It's true that railways is carrying out fieldtrials for various types of green toilets and some work is going on in thisdirection, but I don't have exact knowledge about it."Asection of railway officials said trials are going on for eco-friendlycontrolled discharge toilet system, zero discharge toilet system and bio-toiletbased on bio-digester technology to be installed in all passenger trains. Atpresent, Duronto Express has controlled discharge toilet system.Trials for bio-toilets based on bio-degradable technology arebeing carried out in Bundelkhand Express between Gwalior and Varanasi. Thesebio-toilets are in use in Siachen," they said. Agencies havereported that eco-toilets will be manufactured in Nagpur but has not stated whowill do it. Satish Wate, director of National Environment Engineering ResearchInstitute (NEERI), which has expertise in the technology, denied NEERI doing thejob for railways.Vanrai is another agency, which hassuccessfully implemented the project of public sanitation in Pandharpur andBaramati in 2008 at the time of 'Ashadhi Ekadashi' where 7 to 8 lakh Varkariescome together and create hazard to sanitation. However, Girish Gandhi, trusteeof Vanrai, denied any knowledge about it. "We are not doing it," he toldTOI.Project in collaboration with lITKanpur:Sources told TOI that Nagpurian Vinod Tare of theIndian Institute of Technology (lIT) Kanpur has undertaken the project toprovide eco-friendly toilets to railways, as announced in 2008 railwaybudget.When Tare came to know about the successful projects ofpublic sanitation at Pandharpur implemented by Vanrai, he visited and discussedthe project. However, Tare was not available for comments.Therailways had signed a MoU with Defence Research and Development Organisation(DRDO) for development of bio-toilets for rail coaches. Rail tracks get corrodedbecause of the discharge from toilets and the new design green toilets wouldprevent the damage to the tracks.What areeco-toilets?Toilets in Indian trains are so terrifying thatmany passengers don't drink or eat anything during the entire journey, some eventake pills to induce constipation. A far greater trauma is to stand on theplatform trying to avoid the sight of human droppings on the tracks. Theeco-friendly toilet does not allow the refuse to fall on the tracks. Instead, itis collected in a retention tank which is fixed below the railway coach floor.The capacity of the retention tank is 900 litres, which is twice the capacity ofthe overhead water tank provided by the railways in every toilet. The prototypeof this eco-friendly toilet was developed in 2000. Its interiors are similar tothe current train toilets. The retention tank is provided with a small vent atthe top of the coach so that the gases generated in the tank escape into theatmosphere. The system requires fitting of an underground drainage facility atstations to discharge the wastes.