Kochi: 34 more schools to have e-toilets

Kochi: Soon, 34 more schools can enjoy the e-toilet facility in the district. The Government Girls High School in  Ernakulam is the first school in the country to have e-toilet  with five units on the campus. It was opened with much  fanfare on July 29 this year.

"The construction work of e-toilets in 34 school is in   different stages. We hope to complete it soon. They will be  opened within a month," said P Rajeeve MP who initiated the scheme for government and aided schools under the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS).

"This is part of the hygiene@ school project. For a month, the units at GGHS were under study. Time was also spent on obtaining administrative, technical sanction and work orders," he said.

"We conducted a survey to see the requirements of each school and 27 schools came forward. But, seven aided schools backed out due to the condition that 20 percent of the cost should be borne by them. Since this is a new concept, 15 more government schools showed interest. More than 105 units will be set up soon," he said.

Rajeeve added that after three years, the PTA has to take up  its maintenance. It will take about Rs 5,000 annually and can be  utilised from the Panchayat Minister's fund," he said.

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The toilets are fully automated with mechanism for floor cleaning after 10 visits and water regulation. Some are  girl-friendly with incinerators to dispose of sanitary napkins.

"The toilets are very useful, but we do have problems. As we are using borewell water, the iron contents clog the pump. Flush also does not work, all depends on the sensor. Moreover, the units are quite cost-effective. But, the service is prompt. For three years the service is free after which maintenance will be an issue," said Mathew C J, a teacher at GGHS.

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Deputy Director of Education M D Murali said work had been  completed in a few schools while it was in progress in the rest.

"In some, only the foundation has been laid," he said.  The number of units will vary in different schools, from two to six. Each unit costs Rs 1.5 lakh.  An amount of Rs 1 crore has been sanctioned from the MP fund and the Kochi Refineries Ltd offered a cheque of Rs 40 lakh for the purpose. The cost of the project is Rs 1.5 crore.

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Keltron is the implementing agency of the project with technical assistance from Eram Scientific Solutions (P)Ltd. "We have got a proposal for 35 schools, but received orders for only 24 schools. The work is progressing," said Suresh Kumar S, GM (Marketing), Keltron