New Delhi: The government on Wednesday said it plans to complete the work of installing bio-toilets in all Indian trains by March 2019 and added that now approximately 55 per cent of the total passenger trains have been equipped with the facility of bio-toilets. In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain said that the target for railways to achieve this has been set. All railway workshops have been instructed to compulsorily install bio-toilets in all existing in-service eligible coaches undergoing mid-life rehabilitation and periodical overhaul. He further added,
Bio-toilets are an important step towards Swachh Bharat. It keeps tracks clear of human excreta.
Installing Bio-Toilets in all the trains is one of the most ambitious plans of Indian Railways in order to fulfill the dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Clean India mission by 2019.
What are Bio Toilets?
A Bio-toilet looks exactly like a regular toilet, only difference is in its operation. While a regular toilet has a septic tank, which collects waste and disposes it through a pipe into the sea, bio-toilets have ‘bio-digesters’ that converts human waste into carbon dioxide, methane and water.
The bio-toilets have been deployed in Indian trains for over four years till 2017, at a cost of Rs. 1,305 crore. The plan for railways is to install approximately 80,000 more bio toilets in all the trains by December 2018.
Also Read: With Low Cost And Smart Bio-Toilets An Engineer Brings Change To Rural Maharashtra
Way Ahead
Recently, Indian railways have decided to upgrade its bio-toilets with imported bio-vacuum toilets– that are on par with ones in aeroplanes. By January 2018, the first 100 coaches in trains like Rajdhani and Shatabdi will have the new toilets.
The striking feature of the bio-vacuum toilets is that they are odour-free and cuts down water usage by over one-20th.
The plan Railways plan to install approximately 80,000 bio toilets in all the trains by December 2018.
