Experimenting with various solutions to provide better public toilets, the Tiruchirappalli Municipal Corporation has installed waterless urinals. “Such urinals are already in use in a few places in the country and we have installed them at the Central Bus Stand on trial basis. We will look at installing similar urinals across the city,” Municipal Commissioner K Veera Raghava Rao told CIJ. These toilets do not need to be flushed after every use and are directly connected to underground drains. The toilets would be cleaned once in a day, he added.
“We are also trying probiotic treatment to check foul odour emanating from open urinals and toilets inside the bus stand. This eco-friendly technology uses ammonia eating micro-bacteria, which is sprayed three to four times a day to control odour. The spray can also be used for garbage odour control,” added Rao. These measures are likely to be replicated in other parts of the city.