Karwar: To rid railway stations of stench from tiolets, Konkan Railway Corporation has come out with a novel solution.
It has been constructing biotoilets at all its stations and installing them even in the trains on the Konkan route.
Designed by Defence Research and Development Organisation, biotoilets are cost-effective and environment-friendly. They can be maintained easily. Of the 68 stations on the Konkan rail route, biotoilets have been constructed at six stations at present. Karwar and Baindur (Karnataka), Sawanthwadi (Maharasthra), Thivim, Madagaon and Karmali (Goa) railway stations have biotoilets. They are also being set up in the bogies on the Konkan rail route.
“The present form of toilets has been causing rusting and littering of the tracks since excreta is discharged in the open. This has also been the reason for the stench on the tracks. Biotoilets are a remedy for this problem,” a senior officer of the Railways told sources.
Biotoilets are an outcome of innovative technology for disposing human waste in a eco-friendly manner. They look like traditional toilets, but are not connected to sewage network. Their septic tank comprises two chambers – one for collection of waste and another for microbes, which breakdown the excreta into biogas and water.
