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New toilets in Indian trains no better than septic tanks, reveals IIT study

New toilets in Indian trains no better than septic tanks, reveals IIT study on Business Standard. Most of the new 'bio-toilets' on Indian trains are ineffective or ill-maintained and the water discharged no better than raw sewage

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New toilets in Indian trains no better than septic tanks, reveals IIT study

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  1. Business Standard New toilets in Indian trains no better than septic tanks, reveals IIT study Most of the new 'bio-toilets' on Indian trains are ineffective or ill- maintained and the water discharged no better than raw sewage

  2. A new kind of toilet using bacteria to break down human excreta has been deployed in Indian trains over four years to 2017, at a cost of Rs 1,305 crore, but this toilet is no better than a septic tank, the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, has concluded after a two-year long study. As many as 93,537 “bio-digesters”–as the toilets are called–have been installed in mainline express and mail trains by the Indian Railways. These are small-scale sewage-treatment systems beneath the toilet seat: Bacteria in a compost chamber digest human excreta, leaving behind water and methane. Only the water, disinfected later, is let out on the tracks. That is how it is supposed to work. However, sanitation experts and various studies–including commissioned by the railways–have pointed out that most of the new “bio-toilets” on Indian trains are ineffective or ill-maintained and the water discharged no better than raw sewage. “Our tests have found that the organic matter (human waste) collecting in the bio- digesters do not undergo any kind of treatment,” IIT professor Ligy Philip, who headed the latest study, told IndiaSpend. “Like in the septic tanks, these bio- digesters accumulate slush (human excreta mixed with water).” The IIT study on bio-toilets, shared exclusively with IndiaSpend, was sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and submitted last week to the union ministry of urban affairs. Despite the criticism, an additional 120,000 coaches are to be fitted with these bio- toilets, jointly developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Railways, by December 2018. This is likely to cost Rs 1,200 crore, the railways revealed on November 2, 2017, in response to a Right to Information (RTI) request…….read more

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