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DRDO-IR developed bio-toilets is the burning example of misuse of bureaucracy in India

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Real picture of this bio-toilets adventure, a feedback received by website on 30 may 2017

sir, I saw your articles on Bio-toilets and would like to appreciate for writing against corruptions. The so called DRDO-IR developed bio-toilets is the burning example of misuse of bureaucracy in India.

There is noting like innovation/research in developing this toilet. NO where in the world, such toilets are used in Rail coaches except India.

These are big failure. 95 percent of these toilets are running faulty. It gives extremely bad smell, emanating all the time.

You can ask the feedback from railway Carriage and Wagon department staff, those maintain the toilets. This bio toilets concept is presented as a great innovation, but in fact it is a compete failure.

Bio Toilets are not approved by UIC or any other Railways Standard Organisation or any other Railway.sir, I saw your 15 Aug 2016 article on Bio-toilets and would like to appreciate for writing against corruptions. The so called DRDO-IR developed bio-toilets is the burning example of misuse of bureaucracy in India. There is noting like innovation/research in developing this toilet. NO where in the world, such toilets are used in Rail coaches except India. These are big failure. 95 percent of these toilets are running faulty.

here are more complaints of cleaning in bio toilets. Vendors are minting money. Rs1600 cr is the cost of biotoilets project for Railways.apart from this, I can say that these bio-toilets are complete failure. Why Railways, started using Vacuum Toilets, with Bio-Toilets combination, calling it Hybrid, again claiming a great innovation.f vacuum toilets are proven solution, in Aeroplanes, and railways, worldwide,why to incur extra cost of putting bio-toilets in coaches. It certainly needs an extra infrastructure of vacuum system for extracting/pumping out the human waste from toilet tanks in vacuum toilets, at Washing Lines, but the cost of these infra is quite less than the 1600 cr plus operating cost of bio-toilets.
The feedback from concered railways maintenance staff can be taken from Carriage and Wagon department staff in Washing Lines, Dehradun/ New Delhi/Nizammuddin/Anand Vihar and other big maintenance stations

Drdo

Bio-toilet choked with complaints

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By Pradip R Sagar | Published: 28th October 2017 The Sunday Standard
NEW DELHI: Forget about missiles or battle tanks, the country’s premier defence research agency DRDO’s bio-toilets are getting blocked with major glitches. Indian Railways, the toilets’ main user, is getting hundreds of daily complaints from passengers from its 17 zones, and its top officials can’t find a solution.

Dr Y Ashok Babu, a senior microbiologist who was part of the E-loo project, has questioned the technology used and has written to the Defence Minister and Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). He claims the imported bacteria worked perfectly well in the laboratory but not in Siachen, for which a solar panel heating system was added to accelerate the ‘digestion’ process. He says the bio-toilets, which are nothing but gobar gas plants, involve no technology and can be built by a village mason. He claims that officials conspired with some vendors to fool people; they just added bacteria from Antarctica, which is available in cow and buffalo dung.

A senior Railway official involved in the procurement of the bio-toilets from DRDO said, “Nowhere in the world are such toilets used in rail coaches except in India.” In response to an RTI, Railways authorities revealed no study was carried out before installing the toilets in coaches. “These toilets are not approved by UIC (international union of railways) or any other Railways Standard Organisation,” he said.
Claiming to be a ‘big failure’, Railways officials said 95 per cent of these toilets are faulty. The Railways planned to install 2.5 lakh toilets in all coaches by October 2, 2019.

The bio-toilets were invented by Gwalior-based Defence

Research and Development Establishment (DRDE) and Tezpur-based Defence Research Laboratory (DRL) to decompose biological waste generated by soldiers in high-altitude regions such as Siachen and Ladakh in 2012. After the Ministry for Rural Development—which spent Rs 1,000 crore for the project—the Railways has become its biggest user. The DRDO has made the transfer of technology agreement with 56 companies, which are producing bio-toilets at a cost of Rs 15,000 to Rs 75 lakh. DRDO officials refused to comment when contacted.

Loo-se ends

Indian Railways, the toilets’ main user, gets hundreds of daily complaints from passengers
Railways officials said
95 per cent of these toilets are faulty
Railways planned to install 2.5 lakh toilets in all coaches by October 2, 2019

The project cost Rs 1,000 cr
E-loo uses anaerobic microbial bacteria to decompose and convert biological human excreta into usable water and gasses