The city’s first five public e-toilets were commissioned on Tuesday.
Sponsored by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL) for Mangaluru City Corporation, they were opened at Lalbagh (two), Kadri Park (two) and near the Government Wenlock Hospital on the way to Mangaluru Central Railway Station. Users could enter them by inserting coins of ₹ 1, 2 and 5 denominations.
According to Sreekumar G., Senior Regional Manager, Eram Scientific, the agency which built the toilets, told reporters on the occasion that after inserting the coin, the user could enter the toilet once the green light outside turned red. Soon the fan and lights would turn on and water would be flushed automatically before use. The user would have to lock the door from inside. The water would be flushed automatically after use.
Once a number of persons fixed as per programming used it (say 10 persons or 15 persons), the floor would be automatically cleaned with water.
“Only 1.5 litres of water would be consumed for flushing against five or six litres of water consumed in normal bathroom toilets,” he said and added that only four or five litres of water would be consumed for cleaning the floor.
Mr. Sreekumar said that the agency could monitor the functioning of the e-toilets from its offices either in Bengaluru or Thiruvananthapuram using GPRS. How many persons have used it, how many coins have been collected and whether there was any defect in the functioning could be monitored. “The total health of the toilet can be monitored,” he said.
He said that people could download e-toilet App to know the location of the nearest e-toilet in cities built by the agency.
Mayor Kavita Sanil and J.R. Lobo, MLA, Mangaluru City South, who were present during the inauguration at Lalbagh, said that the corporation intended to have at least 40 e-toilets in the city provided donors came forward to sponsor them. The corporation would request donors to sponsor them.
The Mayor said that Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd. had shown interest in sponsoring some toilets.
According to a corporation official, the five toilets opened on Tuesday have been built at a cost of ₹ 30 lakh.
