B'lore prof develops model to keep railway stations clean

As the Indian Railways spends crores of rupees annually to deal with the bio mass generated in the train toilets and subsequently gallons of water gets wasted to clean the tracks, a professor based in the City has come up with a simple and cheaper solution to deal with the problem.

Professor Sajjan Rao, has designed an automatic toilet waste collection and disposal system which can be extremely helpful in Indian Railways as well as heavy long-distance transport vehicles. 

Prof Rao claims that his models does not require any external power or any electrical support and are completely eco-friendly and require minimal maintenance. He said that the system designed by him can be fitted to the existing toilet compartment without modification as it functions in either directions of the movement of the train.

He has designed two models-  Flap Valve type and Plug Valve type a mechanical device which can take care of bio mass and ensure that it is not strewn on the railway tracks which usually is the case making it difficult for those waiting at the railway platforms to stand the stench.

Explaining his model, Prof Rao, said the working principle of both his models is the same. He said that the models have a collection chamber, discharge valve and wind plate at the lower end.

The discharge valve automatically opens and closes by the action of the wind plate, the natural force of the wind acting on the wind plate in the direction opposite to the moving train, which causes the discharge valve open and close. The system is a closed one with its storage capacity of 40 litres.

Giving a low down on how the model functions, Prof Rao said, during halting of the trains, the human waste discharged from the toilet is collected in the collection chamber.

Speed-based disposal

When the train starts moving at a pre-determined speed and away from the station, the discharge valve automatically starts opening and human waste discharges from the collection chamber on to the ground.

As long as the train is moving, the valve remains in open position and the waste keeps getting discharged. As soon as the train enters the station with less than the pre-determined speed, the valve closes automatically and the human waste is collected in the chamber by usage of the toilet by the passengers.

He added that similar technology can also be adopted in buses and other heavy transport vehicles with a change being that this system will have to be operated upon manually.

Prof Rao said by using this method which comes at as less as Rs 40,000 per toilet, the government can save not only the money but also the precious water which gets wasted in cleaning the tracks and the railway stations can also maintain clean and hygiene environment.