Dear Comrades,
| All Rail coaches to have bio-toilets by 2017, says Jairam |
| The
Ministry of Rural Development has offered to fit all new railways
coaches with DRDO built bio-toilets and to share half the cost of
retrofitting all existing 50,000 coaches with green toilets. Minister of
Rural Development Shri Jairam Ramesh met the Railway Board Chairman
Shri Vinay Mittal here and expressed the hope to complete the project in
the next four to five years. Shri Ramesh informed that the whole
project will cost about 500 crore rupees and offered to share the burden
on a 50-50 basis with the Railways. He said, at present only 9 trains
with 436 coaches are fitted with bio-toilets, while 4,000 coaches are
produced annually which could be fitted with new bio-toilets. The
measure will not only prevent the corrosion of tracks but will also
provide odourless toilets to passengers. At present waste is dumped
directly on to the tracks because of the existing toilet system in
trains. Many passengers ignore requests to not use toilets when trains
halt. Apart from the unbearable stench it creates, the practice leads to
clogging of rail lines at busy stations. Shri Ramesh has also requested the Railways Ministry to run Nirmal Bharat Express on the model of Red Ribbon Express to spread the message of cleanliness and sanitation. Shri Mittal has given a positive nod to the proposal and asked the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation to submit a detailed plan in this regard. |
