City to get its first-ever vacuum toilet
This lavatory uses 0.8 litre water per flush and is connected to a sewage treatment plant
For the first time in the city, the sewage from a low-lying slum toilet will not be directed into the sea but to a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP). The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) along with a technology company Samatech has constructed the city’s first ‘Vacuum Toilet’ in a slum settlement.
A four-seater toilet for ladies has been constructed at Banganga slum settlement at Walkeshwar behind Nepean Sea Road. This toilet completely works on Vacuum technology as it uses air pressure to flush the human waste. It also sucks this waste upwards from the low-lying slum area and directs it to the main sewage line. This sewage line then leads the waste to the STP which is 30 metres from the toilet.
In addition, this Vacuum toilet uses 0.8 litres of water per flush to clean the toilet area thus saving more than 50% of the water usage. Akshat Gupta, the founder of Samatech that ideated this toilet project, said, “Whenever anybody in any locality presses the flush button in a toilet an average of 8 to 10 litres of water is used to flush. But in this Vacuum toilet, the moment you press the flush the air pressure sucks the waste and then 0.8 litre water is used to clean the area.”
Along with water this Vacuum toilet sucks 160 litres of air thus keeping the toilet area fresh for the next user. “The slum dwellers generally complain of toilets being dirty and stinky and thus they prefer defecating in open by the sea. This toilet can help curb the problem of open defecation especially for ladies,” added Gupta.
Till now the sewage from most of the slums of the city is directed into the sea or nearby natural water bodies without treatment. Devidas Kshirsagar, assistant municipal commissioner of that area, said, “Most of the slums are in low lying areas and it is difficult to connect them to the normal sewage lines as it is against gravity. Also, lack of space does not allow us to install septic tanks and huge connecting pipes so we thought of using Vacuum technology.”
BMC will maintain this toilet and has created a community based organisation (CBO) for the same. “The basic cost of electricity for this toilet which caters to 50 families is Rs 3,000 per month approximately. So, if each family could contribute Rs 100 a month then this toilet can be well maintained,” added Kshirsagar.
The Vacuum technology systems are imported from a sanitation company called JETS in Norway. Gupta said, “Though the toilet uses minimum electricity the cost of construction is a major factor. But this toilet saves large amount of water, prevents waste being led into the sea, protects the slum settlements from water borne diseases and, also, connects to the STP. Considering these factors this technology should be adopted in other areas too.”