Swachh Rail: Trains With Bio-Toilets To Have Dustbins By December 2018

New Delhi: What comes to your mind when you think of toilets in trains? Clogged drains, smelly, filthy and unfit for use? Though railways has initiated the process of installing bio-toilets, the one that collect, process and convert human waste into pathogen free water and bio gases, but despite this toilets are often clogged. Passengers often put empty water bottles, sanitary napkins, diapers, and other waste in lavatories. But what if we tell you that Indian railway has a solution to this problem also? To prevent choking of newly installed bio-toilets in trains, the Indian Railways is planning to place dustbins in all the toilets by end of the year.

Also Read: Indian Railways Will Have 100 Percent Bio-Toilets By 2019, Says Union Minister Piyush Goyal

To accelerate the process of placing dustbins, the railway board has directed all the zonal railways to install dustbins in toilets. According to a source who spoke to PTI, while the process of placement of dustbins has already been initiated in the bio-toilets of 40,283 coaches, installation has been completed in 30,000 coaches.

Also Read: National Green Tribunal Asks Railways An Action Plan On Cleanliness, Comptroller And Auditor General To Audit

This is not the first time the Indian Railways has taken a green initiative as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan – nationwide cleanliness campaign. In a bid to tackle the environment concerns, last year, the railways introduced disposable, eco-friendly hand towels and pillow covers made of biodegradable cotton. With an aim to provide better hygiene, earlier this year, ‘auto janitor’ system in toilets that automatically cleans and deodorises toilets was introduced. Recently, in May, the Indian Railways decided to replace plastic/polymer plates with the eco-friendly disposable plates made of bagasse. The scheme was introduced on a trial basis on the Sealdah Rajdhani. To keep the trains clean, back in July, the Indian Railways announced that after meals, the pantry staff will carry a bag to every passenger who can put their trays, plates or any other trash in it.

Time and again, the Indian Railways has taken green initiatives as part of its Swachh Rail Swachh Bharat Mission. But what is needed is effective implementation of all the steps taken.

Also Read: East Coast Railway To Install Sanitary Napkin Vending Machines In Trains

With inputs from PTI

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swachh India campaign lends support to the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, the campaign aims to spread awareness about hygiene and sanitation, the importance of building toilets and making India open defecation free (ODF) by October 2019, a target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014. Over the years, the campaign has widened its scope to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and menstrual hygiene. The campaign has also focused extensively on marine pollution, clean Ganga Project and rejuvenation of Yamuna, two of India’s major river bodies.