In a move to curb open defecation and urination in Chennai,183 self-cleaning public eToilets have been installed in the city.
An Indian social enterprise, Eram Scientific Solution is the brains behind the project and has already installed over 1,600 eToilets in private buildings and schools across 18 Indian states. In 2012, it even won a grant of $450,000 from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
So what’s so special about these toilets? As the name suggests, these toilets require no manpower for its maintenance as it has a self-cleaning mechanism thanks to a sensor-based technology.
These are the major features of these e- toilets:
- To conveniently locate these 183 e-toilets in the city, Eram Scientific Solution has launched an Android app called eToilet.
- Through the app, apart from knowing the locations of the toilets, you can also rate them, offer feedback and even suggest new places where they should be installed.
- The e-toilets are eco-friendly as they save water by flushing a certain amount that is dependent on the time spent in the toilet. Each automatic unmanned toilet cleans itself before and post use.
- The cost of each toilet is approximately Rs 4,50,000 ($6,630)
- 40 of the 183 toilets in the city are built exclusively for women. In addition, five toilets have been built for the differently-abled.
- The toilet has a modular, sleek and appealing design and is easy to install and relocate
- Toilets designed for women even have a sanitary napkin generator and an incinerator.
- They are equipped with sensors for exhaust fan and light to ensure that they consume less water and power than conventional toilets.
To conserve water, the toilets are programmed to flush 1.5 litre of water after three minutes of usage and 4.5 litres if the usage is longer.
This “smart” toilet also washes the platform by itself after every five or 10 persons use the toilet. An instructional note is pasted outside the toilet to make the user familiar with the functioning of this toilet.
Here’s a video by to get a better understanding :
