With sanitation problems rising at an alarming rate in the city, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has decided to install e-toilets at various locations. These state-of-the-art toilets are fully automatic and include Global Positioning System (GPS) sensors, to avoid trespassing. Three such toilets were launched in the city, last year, on a pilot basis.
After receiving a positive feedback from Bangaloreans on the pilot project, Mayor BS Satyanarayan, announced to expand the services to other locations as well. He says, "We installed two e-toilets in Krishna Rao Park, this year and one in Dodda Ganapathi Temple, last year. As we received a good response from the public, we have now planned to expand the service across the city. Eram Scientific Solutions Pvt Ltd, a Kerala-based company, has been appointed to take the project forward to 75 major locations across the city."
BBMP will fund the entire project. A total of Rs 4 crore has been allotted to the technology firm, to install 75 more e-toilets. Maintenance, installation and supervision of the electric and sewage connections for the project, will be handled by Eram Scientific Solutions.
The total cost of installing each toilet goes upto Rs 5 lakh. Rahul Shyam, 37, senior service engineer with Eram Scientific Solutions, says, "Each e-toilet costs Rs 3 .7 lakh. This amount is added to the installation cost along with civil work charges to construct sewage, water and electric line. Thus, the total cost in transporting and installing each toilet goes upto Rs 5 lakh." The e-toilets will be installed in crowded areas where people face sanitation problems at large. "We are looking for petrol pumps to install the e-toilets because a lot of people visit them on a daily basis," adds Shyam.
The e-toilets are designed in a certain way to avoid wastage of water. Shyam explains, "At every flush or floor wash only 1.5 litre of water is used so that we can control wastage of water. Moreover, we have an in-built GPS system, to avoid trespassing. If anyone tries to break the automatic door lock or if two users enter at a single time, the alarm will go off and we will be informed."
Although the project has taken force, there are major challenges the firm is facing regarding land and water. "We are facing a lot of problems to find proper land for installing the other toilets and making sewage and water lines. This is due to a serious problem of water scarcity in the city," says Shyam. To ensure smooth functioning of the toilets, the technology firm will also be constructing water tanks. Shyam says, "To solve public sanitation woes, we will be placing water tanks, which will contain 1,000-2,000 litre of water at a time and will be utilised according to the frequency of usage."
Once the installation is complete, a supervisor and two technicians will be present at every centre where the e-toilets are placed. The staff will be trained in order to ensure smooth functioning of the project. Presently, Eram Scientific Solutions in collaboration with California Technology, USA, is researching ways to produce electricity through the urine stored in these e-toilets.
The firm has also collaborated with the Duke University, USA, to install waste treatment plant. Human waste will be collected and used for plantation thereafter. At present, there are 400 such e-toilets installed in Kerala and a few in Maharshtra (Nagpur) and Tamil Nadu.
Key features of e-toilets:
Automated access control
Waste processing
Portable design to fit busy Indian towns and cities
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