Visakhapatnam: Bio-toilets installed in trains and the city railway station platforms to ensure hygiene have become a cause of concern now. Not for lack of maintenance, but due to its misuse by the passengers. The bio-toilets are choked frequently as the passengers throw cigarette butts, gutka pouches, plastic water bottles, plastic covers, liqour bottles and food waste, among others.
Acting on the complaints received from passengers regarding lack of toilets in the station except at Platform No. 1, the Waltair railway division set up bio-toilets on Platforms No. 6 and 7 recently. The gross misuse by passengers has resulted in blockage and hereby emanating foul smell. The Waltair division of the East Coast Railway is planning to conduct awareness programmes to sensitise people about the use of bio-toilets.
“The problem here is that these toilets are very sensitive unlike the normal ones that passengers are used to,” a railway official said. “In spite of instructions pasted on the walls, people continue to dump various objects in it. Even a tiny object could choke the system and clearing the objects is also not easy and time consuming too. We are receiving a lot of complaints related to choked bio-toilets. We have to spread awareness about proper use of bio-toilets,” the official said.
Waltair division of ECoR has introduced green trains and a total of 259 coaches of various trains originating from Visakhapatnam have been fitted with bio-toilets. As many as 509 out of 2,200 coaches are already fitted with bio-toilets and 600 more to be fitted this year in the ECoR zone. The cleaning staff also need to be careful while cleaning such toilets, an official said. Due to use of cleaning material such as acid, the bacteria may be harmed and the toilets will no longer work, he added.
