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One of the worst nightmares of Indian public transportation is in using the toilets in the long-distance trains. Even the so-called upper class trains like the Rajdhani didn’t have half-decent toilets at least when I last traveled. I remember holding it back for the entire journey which sometimes lasted couple of days just so that I didn’t have to use the bathroom. Luckily for guys, it is easier to pee without making much contact with the surrounding so I pity the ladies who have to use those toilets.
One of the strangest sights while traveling by trains is peering down the hole and watching the ground whiz by. You couldn’t help but wonder that who in the hell would have thought about such a simple yet disgusting solution for dumping the waste. This open disposal system only made things worse when the trains stopped at the stations sometimes for a long time. But of course, that didn’t stop the people from using them. And you can imagine the mess and stink on the railway tracks especially for people waiting on the platform after the train has departed.According to the article linked below, more than 300,000 litres of human waste from “open-discharge” toilets is littered across India’s 40,000-mile rail network.
Humra Lalu seems to have made quite an impression in the Railways ministry because after he took over as the Railways Union minister, things have been seemingly looking up, revenue-wise although I’m doubtful how much of the credit can be attributed to Lalu. But given the state of toilets as described above and also probably in light of the recent ‘miracle baby’ born in the toilet, the decision to install ‘green toilets’ in more than 36,000 rail coaches comes as a welcome relief. In the recent budget presentation, Lalu promised that three toilet models - controlled discharge, biodegradable and vacuum-retention toilets - would be fitted on the passenger coaches. These operate in the following manner:
- Controlled discharge model waste from toilets would be discarded onto the tracks only when any train traveled more than 18 miles an hour (solves the problem of littering the tracks at the station).
- Biodegradable toilet converted the litter via a microbial or chemical process into non-corrosive carbon dioxide or chlorinated liquid (prevent stink and protects the environment)
- Vacuum-retention toilets, similar to the ones in aircraft, retains the waste in a storage tank (probably the best solution if disposed off properly when the tanks are emptied out).
This decision was hardly made due to hygienic and sanitation conditions but in fact on economic grounds as the disposed waste wore out the rail tracks and associated fittings faster than they are expected to. They have to be replaced every two years although their expected shelf life is at least 30 years. The retrofitting of the toilets is expected to cost around $1billion but I’m sure they’ll recover this cost through savings in replacement part and most of all, conservation of the environment by preventing monsoon rains washing off all that filth into surrounding rivers and lakes.
I’m glad the Indian Railways are leading the way in making large-scale infrastructural changes to the network even though they are starting from the toilets. Hopefully they’ll also install a baby retrieval system. Perhaps next time I travel long-distance by train although chances of doing so in the age of cheaper air travel is remote, I might just relieve myself before arriving at the destination. Of course, considering that my fellow-passengers have remembered to aim correctly.
by Patrix | on Tuesday, March 4th, 2008 at 3:00 pm | 
Environment, Governance, India . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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March 4th, 2008 at 5:05 pm reply
Never knew that human waste can cut through steel !!
March 4th, 2008 at 5:51 pm reply
grt analysis of “sandaz” time well spent 3 cheers mate
March 4th, 2008 at 6:01 pm reply
bloghopper, given the amount of crap, you would be surprised.
saks, hope you didn’t read it in the ’sandaz’ :)
March 4th, 2008 at 6:19 pm reply
You know.. some people have to read blogs in the morning.. while they are also trying to have some breakfast!
March 4th, 2008 at 6:27 pm reply
Vivek, ouch! That’s why posted it late in the afternoon. Too bad my East Asian readers got the wrong end of that move, no pun intended.
March 4th, 2008 at 8:35 pm reply
trains in india offer both indian (here u sh…. Squating) and western(here u sh….sitting) toilets. The problem u discussed of female copassengers is true more so wrt western toilets and this can happen even in planes or at ur own house if insensitive. The real prblm with indian style toilet is the tap and that tied iron mug to a chain in a moving train it can be quite challenging to balance in that position and thereafter do the washing. So here u can take the dicussion to a new level indian style vs western style in this sh…tty buisness.
March 4th, 2008 at 10:05 pm reply
..oh thank god, thank god, they are improving the damn things - i used to starve myself before and on long distance journeys heheh.
March 5th, 2008 at 12:39 am reply
Yeah.. I understood.. still, had to file a complaint :)
March 5th, 2008 at 9:28 am reply
sarkar raj, I agree that there are many things wrong with our Indian-style toilets. They just aren’t suited to mobile; balancing skills notwithstanding. It might be the only place where I think using toilet paper rules.
Cynic, heh! So I’m not the only one forcing constipation.
Vivek, have you submitted in triplicate? I know I know, you must be tired of that joke by now. Gotta invent more babu jokes.
March 5th, 2008 at 5:40 pm reply
Did you read about that baby who was delivered by accident when the mom was on the toilet? She slipped down the hole onto the tracks, but was miraculously unhurt..
March 6th, 2008 at 11:23 am reply
Sqrl, of course! How could I’ve missed it; the Indian media was all over complete with suggestions to name the baby. Damn! It surely must have been a slow news day. Or is that every day?
March 16th, 2008 at 12:54 am reply
I wonder why Railways cannot improve when the flights charging the same fares can improve by leaps and bounds. In Dibrugarh Rajdhani, I found attendants waking up the passengers to collect their tip and the collection procedure was almost similar to that of eunuchs.
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:19 am reply
now,the time has came ,we deeply think about enviourment sanitation.this thought might be borring but its require. viral infication is sprayed through human excreata. a sanitise toilet will be more helpfull to protuct us from viral infection.