Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) schools in the City will get 100 electronic toilets in the coming days.

The self-operating e-toilets will be installed in 50 ‘high-priority’ BBMP schools, with immediate need for sanitation. The project is carried out under the MP’s Local Area Development (MPLAD) funds of Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Chandrashekar. “This initiative will benefit around 20,000 students, especially girls, studying in these schools,” Chandrashekar said in a media release. 

Responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for “Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan” and to ensure basic sanitation facilities for students at BBMP schools, Chandrashekhar announced that a pilot project - installing four e-toilets in two BBMP schools at Jogupalya in Ulsoor and on Dispensary Road in Shivajinagar - will begin soon.

The project will be extended to cover 50 high-priority schools over the next two years, the MP added. The BBMP runs as many as 153 educational institutions in the City and in most schools, clean, usable toilets are a luxury. In schools where toilets exist, they are often dilapidated, he informed.

Electronic toilets are steel structures with automated cleaning and flushing mechanisms.

 Being a self-cleaning toilet, the e-toilet negates the need for everyday cleaning and ensures long-term hygiene. On opening of the door of the e-toilet, it automatically switches on a light—thus saving energy. It directs the user with audio commands, ensuring proper hygiene.

These toilets are programmed to flush 1.5 litres of water after every three minutes of usage and 4.5 litres for a longer usage, thereby, conserving water. They can also be programmed to clean the platform with a complete wash down after every five or 10 persons use the toilet, said the release.