800 Train Coaches from Pune Now Fitted with Bio Toilets
Train passengers will soon be relieved of the ever increasing stench on railway tracks because of human waste which is discharged directly from train toilets on to the tracks. 800 coaches of trains originating from Pune have been installed with eco-friendly toilets.
IIndian railway tracks will soon be free of human waste discharged from train toilets, and also from the ever growing stench on railway stations.
About 30% coaches of trains originating from the Pune railway division now have bio-toilets. This comes to 800 coaches in Pune, and the remaining coaches will be modified in a phased manner.
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This is a part of the efforts being made to make the Pune-Lonavla track a clean route, wherein all trains will be installed with bio-toilets. These environment friendly toilets process the waste with bacteria and convert it into water and gas, hence restricting direct discharge on tracks. The bio-toilet unit is situated under the coach. The waste is released on tracks in the form of harmless water after chlorination, while the gas is released in the air.
The direct release of waste worsens the condition of tracks and is also harmful for the environment. In turn it also leads to loss of large amounts of water which goes in cleaning the tracks. As per the plans of the Union Railway Ministry, all existing toilets in coaches will be replaced to bio-toilets by 2021.
In addition to this, volunteers will also be appointed at platforms to stop passengers from using toilets when the train halts at stations.
“The Pune station has a daily footfall of about 93,000 passengers with over 150 trains passing through the station every day. So the task is challenging,”
said Divisional railway manager (DRM) Suneet Sharma, adding that the administration will make large scale efforts to obtain cleaner tracks, and platforms.