Thiruvananthapuram:
Kerala company Eram Scientific has bagged the prestigious Skoch Awards 2013 for developing user-friendly "She Toilets" for women, the first of its kind in the country, and for connecting eToilets across the country.
It won awards in the categories of "Smart Governance" for developing "She Toilets" and "Digital Inclusion" for implementing the country's first Connected eToilet Infrastructure (CeTI).
The "She Toilet" and CeTI projects also received the "Order of Merit" from among top 100 innovations from all sectors across the country.
Skoch Awards seek to recognise best practices in the fields of governance and technology for promoting the inclusive growth of the nation.
Eram Scientific, based here in the capital city, tried to address the challenges associated with sanitation, by designing and implementing user-friendly and cost-effective women-friendly "She Toilets".
As part of the project, 23 "She Toilets" have been implemented in the city.
The toilet uses web-mobile-electronics technologies. It has an automated door, power flushing, automatic closet washing and sterilisation, and automatic platform cleaning mechanism, all backed by SMS alerts to inform the control room about the status of the water tank and the bio-gas plant in the event of any errors.
As soon as the coin (entry charge) is dropped, a sliding door opens, the light comes on and the exhaust fan starts. Inside the toilet there is a bucket, mug and other necessary items. In case the user does not flush the toilet after use, the system automatically does all the cleaning operations.
Another award-winning project was the "Connected eToilet Infrastructure", through which Eram Scientific has connected eToilets across the country.
The project allows management and monitoring of the performance of eToilets and to create accountability and transparency in public infrastructure.
It facilitates users to access the eToilet map over a web interface and enables them to view the health status and transaction details of the respective eToilets.
Siddeek Ahmed, chief managing director of Eram and ITL group of companies, said: "This achievement reinforces our commitment towards improving sanitation facilities for the common man and this will drive us ahead to create more meaningful solutions powered by technology convergence."
"Winning the Skoch Awards has showcased eToilet on a nation-wide platform and we seek to leverage on this opportunity," said Ahmed.