Ganga ghats in Kanpur to have bio-toilets soon

Kanpur: The Centre has decided to set up bio-toilets at the Ganga ghats here, said an official here on Friday.

In the first phase, the bio-toilets, to be set up under the Centre's Namami Gange project, would come up at six ghats, said project member Tanveer Ahmad.

While two such toilets would be set up at the Massacre Ghat, Gola Ghat, Magazine Ghat, Koyala Ghat, Guptar Ghat and Bhagwatdas Ghat would have one bio-toilet each, he said. The move would benefit those living in the settlements on the banks of the river, he added.

The Kanpur Municipal Corporation (KMC) had given a green signal to the project at the three ghats falling under its jurisdiction, said Ahmad.

Though the work at the KMC ghats would begin soon, the process in the cantonment-supervised area would start only after getting permission from the authorities concerned, he added.

There is a special kind of bacteria in the tank that stores the excreta in a bio-toilet, which consumes the solid particles, while the watery content evaporates. These toilets would serve the desired purpose only if at least 200 people used them daily, said Ahmad.

Namami Gange, a pet project of the BJP-led NDA government, aims at cleaning the holy river and its tributaries in a comprehensive member. The project comes under the Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, headed by Uma Bharti.