The Tiruchi Railway Division has taken up a pilot project to try out portable toilets at Srirangam station. The toilets are designed and manufactured at Sanaswadi in Pune by Shramik Sanitation Systems, a division of Pune-based Saraplast Private Limited, along with its technology partner Global Fliegenschmidt GmbH.
The toilets are made of high density polyethylene (HDPE), with special pumps and sumps designed to discharge minimum water with maximum pressure without the use of electricity. The toilet can be either connected to a sewage line or vacuum cleaned, with a separate tank provided for collecting human waste. They can be custom-made (in both Indian and Western styles) depending on customer specifications and transport costs.
The toilets are of easy-to-clean material recommended by non profit trade organisations – Portable Sanitation International Association, USA, and Portable Sanitation Europe. The moulded toilets would have ultraviolet stability for up to five years to prevent the material from cracking under harsh climatic conditions. The light-weight toilets are of a single piece, designed to prevent vandalism and breaking. The translucent sloping roof provides natural lighting during the day and public (street) lights would be adequate during nights. Foot pumps are provided for flushing to avoid hand contact. The toilets have been installed in Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad and also in some rural/semi urban localions across India.
