Indian Railways need to buy 3,350 truckloads of cow dung for Rs 42 cr in 2018 - Here's why

Representational Image (File photo)

NEW DELHI: The latest data on bio-toilets released by Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) revealed that nearly 199,689 out 25,000 toilets have defects.

Indian Railways will have to buy 3,350 truckloads of cow dung at Rs 42 crore in 2018 to "recharge" – add bacteria to activate degradation – leaky, malfunctioning 'bio-toilets', reported IndiaSpend.

As per a data released by the national auditor to Parliament, Railways has fitted these bio-toilets on 44.8 per cent of trains.

Bio-toilets, set beneath the toilet seat, are small-scale sewage-treatment systems. These toilets are formed when Bacteria in a compost chamber digest human excreta and leave behind water and methane.

The railway ministry defended its stand by saying that the problems of malfunctioning were because of the misuse if toilets by passengers. "These issues are being dealt with promptly," an official was quoted as saying.