KERALA: To improve the country’s sanitation scenario, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has triggered a whole lot of novel programs and innovations, even in the private sector. One such innovation addressing public sanitation is an e-Toilet – a sleek steel cubicle equipped with a multitude of electronics to help it function as an automated, solar-powered and self-cleaning toilet. The Thiruvananthapuram zoo introduced an innovative restroom model for women on World Toilet Day 2017. ‘Smart She’ is a toilet unit that requires no manual cleaning, and is also equipped with a sanitary napkin vending machine, a napkin incinerator, and stations for baby-feeding and changing of diapers. The toilet is solar-powered and thus, the charged solar panels produce electricity after sunset, thereby solving a gigantic issue. As the user inserts a coin to enter, the sensor-based lighting system gets activated for the time the unit is being used. This unique model was devised by Eram, a Thiruvananthapuram-based social enterprise. The toilet unit flushes itself with the help of a sensor, using a nominal 1.5 litres per flush and thereby saving huge amounts of water. The toilet floor is sensor-washed, after every 10th use. The flushed waste and grey water are further treated with anaerobic decomposition, thereby making the unit eco-friendly. This technological upgrade is certainly the need of the hour for the betterment of sanitation facilities in the country. The company has installed e-Toilets in a number of cities in collaboration with the government bodies. In Navi Mumbai, the company tied up with Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation and with Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation in Thane area.
This innovative toilet costs around 14 lakh a unit and have been installed in over 2500 locations across 22 states in the country, and has a significant approach in sustainable sanitation by integration of electronics, mechanical, web-mobile technologies to control entry, usage, cleaning, exit, and remote monitoring capabilities etc.