$130m project to clean up Indian rail

Where 130 million households are without a latrine, which accounts for 60% of the global volume of open defecation, is a matter of concern and anguish, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said in a recent meeting in New Delhi.

The minister unveiled a proposal to spend र 1.5 billion to provide 100,000 bio-toilets to villages across India in the next two years. He also proposed a $90mproject to replace the open-hole toilets on the 50,000 coaches that ply India’s vast railway network with bio-toilets over the next five years. Carrying 11 million passengers a day, Indian Railways “is really the largest open toilet in the world”, Ramesh said, adding that his ministry would be willing to pick up half the cost of the toilet re-fit.

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