UnionMinister for Rural Development, Drinking Water and Sanitation Jairam Rameshs’s‘India Dream’ to free the country – the rural populace in particular - fromopen defecation, seems to have faced a setback with people unwilling to useDRDO made Bio-toilets raising a stink.
Afterlaunching the bio-digesters in Odisha’s Dhamra village, close to Wheeler Islandfrom where India test fires its all long range missiles, the Minister on June24 even called it no less important than the Agni missiles. Today, thebio-toilets stand abandoned. The villages are reluctant to use it claiming thatthey lack required facilities.
Thee-age toilets were formally launched at a glittering function by the DefenceResearch and Development Organisation (DRDO) in association with the Federationof Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) at Dhamra in Bhadrakdistrict.
Whileinitially at least six bio-toilets, christened as eco-friendly loo (ELoo) wereinstalled in five villages in Dhamra and Basudevpur areas, the DRDO had assuredto install more such toilets along the 90-km Jamjhadi-Dhamra stretch. Thoughthe DRDO claimed that these toilets were opened for public use after theirsuccessful trials in Siachen and Jammu and Kashmir, people here are not readyto buy it.
MalatiMajhi, a villager from Dhamra said the toilet installed in the village lackswater supply and proper ventilation. “It does not have a window or a space forventilation. As the inside area is inadequate, it is difficult to sit there.The toilet was used only for a couple of days after their installation. Wedon’t use it now for its stinking smell,” she said.
TheMinister too had expressed his dissatisfaction over the lack of ventilationfacilities in these toilets during the inauguration. The loos are so small andair-tight that a person feels suffocated after a few minutes. There is nosystem for air circulation as these are fully covered with fiber body.
Thetechnology used to develop the bio-toilets is anaerobic processing system thattreats excreta, typically with small volumes of flush water. This is usually abetter process than the aerobic decomposition, which requires supply of oxygeneither as compressed air or by agitation and process culminates into water andCO2.
TheBio-digester technology has been developed by Gwalior based Defence Researchand Development Establishment (DRDE) and Tezpur based Defence ResearchLaboratory (DRL) which claimed the ELoos can effectively function in extremeconditions and temperature ranging from - 6 degree C to 50 degree C.
Asper the claims of the DRDO, there is a bio-digester underneath where thetemperature is maintained at 5 to 30 degree Celsius and the Psychrophilebacteria break down the waste. There is no foul smell, disease-carryingorganisms or solid matter. The bio-gas is released into the air continuouslyand the residual liquid can be drained without any ill effect.
Alocal Bikartan Behera said no such degradation is done here. “Every time badsmell is coming out from the toilet making it unviable for use. People have tocarry water from a faraway place to use the toilet, which is not possiblealways. The facilitator needs to equip the toilet with water supply,” he said.
Thevillagers also have blamed the DRDO for poor quality installation work nearDhamarai temple as one portion of the toilet has depressed and its fiber bodydisfigured. A retired defence employee N K Sahu said the bio-toilets were firsttried between 1993 and 1998. However, systems failed because of foul smell,breeding of cockroaches and flies, maintenance requirement, need for dailyaddition of bio-enzymes.
“Butnow though the DRDO claims to have used the bacteria Psychrophile in thetoilets, but the loos should be made user friendly with spaces for ventilationand round-the-clock water supply. Or else it would be left unused,” he said.
Localdefence officials though admitted the shortcomings in these toilets, but noneagreed to comment on it. They said all the problems would be sorted out soonand more toilets installed in the area to curb the habit of open defecation.