Automated, self cleaning e-Toilets for Tirupati

• By B.venkat Sandeep, www.thehindu.com
• January 4th, 2015

THE HINDU Workers giving finishing touch to e-toilets in front of the Tirupati Railway Station. Photo: K.V. Poornachandra Kumar 

 

Compact steel structures, currently under construction at three major locations of the temple city, seem to have sparked a sense of inquiry among denizens and devotees. Failing to blend in with the surroundings, these futuristic cabins have garnered a stream of curious onlookers, who have interrogated the workers repeatedly about its function. These are nothing but the state-of-the-art, fully automated e-Toilets, soon to be introduced by the Municipal Corporation of Tirupati (MCT).

These toilets, developed by a private company – Eram Scientific, will be set up at three arterial junctions in the city – two cabins each (for men and women) at Central Bus Station and near pilgrim amenities complex – Vishnu Nivasam i.e., opposite to Railway Parcel Office. The third one, comprising of a single cabin, will come up at Urban SP Office near NTR Circle.

Speaking to The Hindu, Municipal Engineer B. Chandrasekhar welcomed the introduction of automated toilets and explained about their functioning. The unit, which costs Rs.5.5 lakh, houses all the information about its usage, in local languages. It has exits and hooters to alert people outside in case of any emergency.

“People can use these toilets by inserting a nominal amount of Rs.2/5, which is yet to be finalised by the Municipal Corporation. Subsequently, the door is opened and occupancy of the cabin is displayed outside. After every five uses, it automatically flushes the floor and has tissues/napkins for the people using it,” he added.

Mr. Chandrasekhar said that the toilets would require less human intervention as inbuilt sensors monitor the situation of the cabins. “The corporation is building tanks at the respective facilities to address water shortage and the company’s service engineer would be training engineers and workers for six months,” he maintained.

The project was a result of an extensive survey conducted in the city and the officials are contemplating to introduce more units based on the feedback of present ones.

Waste Management: Meet a few families that have made this their catch phrase.

Did you know that in Chennai, 68 per cent of the city’s total solid waste is generated by households? Did you know that one person produces 200 kg of solid waste per year? *

There is little point in keeping our homes sparkling clean when most of us step out into streets piled high with garbage. What can we do to reduce the amount of bio-degradable waste that leaves our home and goes into streets and landfills? Zero waste homes are fast becoming the norm. They not only make your home clean and eco-friendly, they also keep your streets and city clean. And you can get there simply by composting waste.

Composting sounds messy but it’s just the practice of converting organic waste into manure. If you can do it easily and simply at home or in your workspace, why not? You don’t need lots of space or a dedicated compost yard. A small green patch, a balcony or just about any unused space in an office or apartment block can do the trick.

The Bangalore-based Daily Dump has been offering a range of home composting products since 2006. Poonam Bir Kasturi, the founder, explains why everyone must take it up at home, “It makes you proud to keep waste off the streets. It is sensitive to natural cycles and tolerant of different life forms. It builds a sense of joy that you can actually make a change to the mess around, and moves you from being a consumer to a change agent.”

Segregation is the first step in composting. Says Poonam, “Without segregation, composting cannot happen.” A family can start immediately but in an apartment block, it takes time to get a consensus. You need a group to follow it through and the space and budget to invest in bins. “The capital cost per family in both individual homes and apartment blocks is approximately the same. The recurring cost for individual homes is higher, whereas communities can achieve economies of scale,” explains Poonam.

Navneeth Raghavan, Chennai’s very own Daily Dump clone, began her compost journey after she met Poonam in Bangalore. “I was very impressed with what she did. I found a potter, made some pots, and trained myself to compost. Now, my entire family is involved in it and they see the benefits of composting.” Poonam and Navneeth use three-layered terracotta pots called khambas for composting.

What Navneeth started on a small scale in 2008 today benefits 3,500 families. “We make our pots locally. I live on the fourth floor of an apartment and leave my khamba on the balcony. There is no stink during decomposition and we have a solution to keep away flies.” Navneeth gives away plastics and tins to the recyclers and the rest goes into the khamba.

Preethi Sukumaran and Sruti Harihara Subramanian are just two of the many who have followed the Daily Dump example. “After we began composting, I saw a remarkable reduction in the amount of garbage going out of home. We have started to critically examine everything that comes into the house to see if it can be recycled or composted.” Preethi even carries her own containers and oil cans to grocery stores. “If we can’t avoid packaged groceries, the covers are washed, dried and put into the recycling bin.”

Preethi has a separate bin in the kitchen for plastic and paper to be given away to the recycler. Her family has replaced plastic water bottles with stainless steel ones and the plastic water storage can with a copper pot. They save the rinse water from hand-washed clothes to mop floors and clean toilets. Water used to wash vegetables or rice is recycled for plants. In fact, Preethi and her husband make sustainable alternatives like organic and eco-friendly detergents.

Sruti began composting to sustain her terrace garden and she too uses the khamba. “It’s easy,” she says, “Throw all your organic waste into it. You get microbes and additives to mix in. Just follow the instructions.” Sruti, who runs Ashvita Bistro in Alwarpet, uses a khamba there as well, apart from retailing the compost sets. “Do you know about 60 per cent of waste from any home is organic waste,” she asks.

Singapore-based blogger Bhavani Prakash has written an e-book called 50 Ways to Make Your Home Eco-Friendly. “I compost vegetable and fruit peels in my apartment. I started by using empty flower pots and soil for my method. Start with a thin layer of soil, then peels, then a layer of browns (cardboard, dry leaves, paper) and another layer of soil. This prevents flies and smells. There has to be a judicious mix of wet and dry waste. Once that’s done, moisture, heat and air will do the trick. Stir, if it starts to smell and in a few days it will be alright.” It’s better to start with a flower pot, she says, since you use things you already have at home; old pots, unused soil, paper. Clearly, cleanliness too begins right at home.

Ward Watch: A risky and slushy place along the Vaigai: Tamil Nadu

A dangerous sewage channel with no walls or fence is located in Subedar Thoppu 
By S. Poorvaja, www.thehindu.com   November 4, 2014

For vehicle users and pedestrians who have to pass through Subedar Thoppu in Pankajam Colony, safety has become a thing of the past. A sewage channel for the area, which originates in the street, is dangerously located with no walls or a fence, putting the lives of people at risk.

“The open drain has been lying exposed for years without a fence or a wall. This road is used by a number of schoolchildren as well as persons who come to the butcher and provision shop located here. They are at a constant risk of falling into it,” said M. Ponraj, a resident.  The residents of Ward 53, where the open sewage channel is located, claimed that sewage had been lying stagnant for years. “It has also contaminated groundwater and often a stench emanates from the water we use at home,” Mr. Ponraj added. The residents said they made a request for a protective wall or a concrete slab to cover the channel to prevent the risk of people or vehicles falling into it. Ward councillor Thangam Dhakshinamoorthy from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam said a proposal had been submitted to the corporation authorities but to no avail.

“We also received complaints about mosquito problems because of stagnant sewage. Work needs to be taken up immediately on the sewage channel but the corporation has not allocated funds for the ward,” she said. The ward, which includes the sprawling Teppakulam, has many of its roads in a pathetic condition, pointed out the councillor herself. The residents further stated that no road had been laid in the last three years. “The bus stop near Nirmala Girls Higher Secondary School on Kamarajar Salai gets flooded the minute it starts raining. After repeated requests for repair work, a proposal has finally been accepted and work will begin soon,” Ms. Thangam said.

Residents of Pankajam Colony, Vadivel Nagar, A.A. Road and Thangam Nagar unequivocally called for attention to the condition of roads. “There is water stagnation whenever it rains on our narrow streets which are thickly populated as well,” said P. Pandiammal, a resident of Pankajam Colony First Street.

Safety concerns

Since a chunk of the ward’s area lies along the banks of the Vaigai, residents are also concerned about safety. “There used to be police patrol in the area at least twice a day. Police personnel used to be stationed at vulnerable areas. In their absence, chain-snatching and petty thefts are on the rise,” said N. Vanniarajan, a snack vendor.

“We used to go for walk early in the morning and in the evening, but we now find it difficult to venture out, as antisocial elements also frequent the road along the riverbank,” he added. Residents along the riverbank further stated that streetlights in the area too had stopped functioning. “While we have tried to solve small issues of residents here, we are often sidelined when it comes to allotment of funds since we are not from the ruling party,” alleged Ms. Thangam.

“Even the allotments our neighbouring wards 51 and 52 receive do not come to ward 53. Only if the ward is considered for infrastructure improvement – projects such as laying of paver block roads – will our residents be satisfied,” she added.

Greater Mumbai - NGO inputs, Public toilets, Cost recovery

Brihan Mumbai Municiple Corporation to seek NGOs’ inputs on spots for public toilets

By Sharvari Patwa, indianexpress.com  January 14th, 2014

The BMC recently began a survey to map all public toilets in the city.

The BMC (Greater Bombay) has planned to invite citizens’ organisations and NGOs to help in identifying locations to construct public toilets in the city.

“We have planned to construct more public toilets and invite NGOs to run these public toilets based on the requirements put forth by citizens’ groups,” said a senior civic official from the solid waste management department.

The BMC recently began an extensive survey to map all public toilets in the city. The civic body will also survey properties of other public agencies such as the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA), Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and Public Works Department (PWD) to account for the public toilets in their areas.

In a city constantly on the move, where an average person travels a considerable distance to and from his workplace, a glaring gap is seen in the most basic public utility — toilets for people on the go.

As per BMC data, as of May 2012, for the 1.3 crore residents of Mumbai, there were only 836 public toilet blocks (excluding public toilets in slums) having a total of 10,381 toilet seats, 2,849 urinals and 842 bathrooms. This means that a single toilet seat caters to 1,250 Mumbaikars even as authorities admit the city needs a minimum of 35,000 public toilet seats. NGOs’ estimates peg the figure at 50,000 seats.

To stop open defecation, civic body collects data on public toilets

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To Improve sanitation facilities in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is conducting a survey of spots/areas that require public toilets. Following the state government's directive to eradicate open defecation, the civic body is counting public toilets in the city to assess further requirements.

It has already surveyed 15 wards. "There are about 4,500 toilets in the city according to our preliminary round of survey, out of which 65-70 per cent are for men and the rest are for women," said an official.

"We are taking a count of toilet blocks in the city for both women and men," said B P Patil, Chief Engineer, Solid Waste Management. Based on the data, more toilets will be constructed under the Mumbai Sewage Disposal Project.

"The state government has given a directive to stop open defecation in cities. We are studying and recording areas and places where open defecation takes place and based on the data collected, we will prepare a report of how many toilets are required," said Patil. According to Patil, the data collected will primarily include number of toilets available along the railway stations and railway lines.

"Open defecation is common outside railway stations and along tracks. Slum population living along the tracks and commuters use the open space for unrination," said an official involved in the project.

He added, "While there is a dire need to construct more public toilets in the city, there is no detailed data available on the existing toilets blocks. The survey would include number of pay-and-use toilets around railway stations, their exact locations, ownership of land, which NGO is running it and if there is a need to upgrade the facilities."

The BMC has also started the process of surveying the Eastern and Western Express Highways to find out spots where sanitation facilities are needed the most.

BMC to recover cost from agencies through property tax

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After offering its services to state and central government land-owning agencies, such as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT), and the Indian Railways, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will now forcibly collect garbage from publicly-owned areas.

A circular from the civic body's solid waste management department states that the cost for garbage collection from public land will be recovered by raising the property tax for state and central government land-owning agencies.

"We had given these public and private land owners the option of using our services based on a basic fee structure. However, except for MMRDA, no one approached us. They said it is the BMC's duty to collect garbage from their properties," said a senior civic official.

"Uncollected garbage is causing a problem to citizens. We are now going to enforce collection and increase the agencies' property tax as payment. We are issuing a circular to them in this regard," he added.

Till April, the BMC collected garbage only from public roads and door-to-door points. It was not responsible for garbage on land owned by agencies such as MbPT, MMRDA, MHADA and railway lines. At a civic standing committee meeting last November, Additional Municipal Commissioner Mohan Adtani proposed to offer the civic garbage collection services at a basic fee.

The proposal was formalised when Municipal Commissioner Sitaram Kunte, in his budget proposal for the current fiscal year, set aside over Rs 2 crore for the purpose. This was "to achieve the service level benchmark of 100 per cent for household collection" in BMC's cleanliness programme for the city.

The commissioner also said a proposal was being sought to amend Section 365 (A) of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act of 1886 (which pertains to cleaning all streets of the city), so that service costs can be recovered in lieu of clearing areas.