By: Santoshee Gulabkali Mishra Only 10 per cent of the installation work of bio-toilets has been completed till date, with 438 coaches of long distance trains( mail trains) on the Central Railways of Mumbai now having bio-toilets. This is done in accordance with the Railway Board’s guidelines to maintain hygiene and cleanliness in the trains and on the tracks. At present, trains have flush toilets - which means human waste is dumped directly on the track. “We have fitted bio-toilets in 430-odd coaches which includes the general coaches, second ac and third tier ac coaches also,” said a Central Railway (CR) official. [related-post] “The work of installation is going on at the workshop in Matunga. There are approximately 4,236 coaches with the long distance route trains, among these 1007 coaches are general, 1,583 sleeper class, 199 of second AC and 488 are of third tier AC. Although, initially the work had begun with the fitting of the old coaches, and it is still under process. As the running mails trains complete the journey and reach for the maintenance , we send them to the workshop for fitting of the bio-toilets,” he added. “Also, when the production of the new coaches are done in the workshops, the bio-toilets are fitted in it, to save time,” he said. “So far, we have completed only 10 per cent of the fitting of the installation but within the next few months the work is likely to get completed.” The Railways had signed a MoU with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for development of bio-toilets for rail coaches. The anaerobic bacteria named ‘inoculum’ are used in the bio-toilets have been collected and analysed by DRDO from Antarctica and the efficiency of this system has been tested in extreme climates and conditions. it will be kept in a container under the lavatories that convert human waste into water and small amounts of gases. Gases will be released into the atmosphere and the water will be discharged after chlorination onto the tracks. santoshee.mishra@expressindia.com
