To                                                                                                        20^th December 2017

Shri  RAKESH  KUMAR

D.D. (PG) &  C.P.I.O.

(Registration & Coordination)

R.No 05, RTI Cell / RB

Railway Board, New Delhi -110001

Hello,

Kindly provide me with the following information requested under the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 in respect of IR’s para-wise reply to Article titled “New Toilets In Indian Trains No Better than Septic Tanks: IIT Study” published in India Spend dated 23^rd November, 2017. At para number 11 of the rejoinder, in reply it has been stated that instead bacteria from low temperature areas in India were acclimatized to low temperature and the bacterial species which had compromised activity at low temperature were supplemented (bioaugmentation) with selected group of bacteria isolated from lake sediment samples brought from Antarctica.

1. Copy of patent If any applied for acclimatization process developed by DRDO, submitted to you by DRDO or  any other related documents,  which supported your statement  in reply of para 11.
2. Kindly provide me a certified copy of safety certifications obtained from environmental agencies and bio safety agencies if you made them acclimatized through gene manipulation or any genetic engineering methods before releasing such bacteria into environment.

 

Regards

Prabhu Dayal Dandriyal

21-Sunderwala, Raipur, Dehradun-248008

Phone – 0135- 2787750, Mobile- 9411114879,

e-mail id prabhudoon@gmail.com  website – www.corruptionindrdo.com

Registration Number      MORLY/R/2017/54482

IR’s para-wise reply to Article titled “New Toilets In Indian Trains No Better than Septic Tanks: IIT Study” published in India Spend dated 23^rd November, 2017

11.

Lokendra Singh, former director of the DRDE, had, after an expedition to Antarctica, brought home psychrophilic bacteria that can survive in extremely low temperatures. The bacteria were mixed with cowdung and normal soil, which have methogens (micro-organisms that produce methane) capable of breaking down human excreta. This was then supplied to the manufacturers of rail bio-digesters.

11.  It is not true that all the bacteria involved in biodegradation process were brought from Antarctica. Instead bacteria from low temperature areas in India were acclimatized to low temperature and the bacterial species which had compromised activity at low temperature were supplemented (bioaugmentation) with selected group of bacteria isolated from lake sediment samples brought from Antarctica. The basic microbiological and biochemical steps involved in bio-digester, gobar gas plant and septic tank are similar except that septic tank does not have methanogens instead lower fatty acids get converted into H2S gas by employing sulphate reducing bacteria. Another difference is that inoculum is not added to the septic tank whereas bio-digester is seeded initially with a known anaerobic microbial consortium. The major difference in bacterial composition used in bio-digester and other technologies is that bacteria are more efficient and work in wider temperature range including low temperature (cold active bacteria and not psychrophiles as reported in the news)