NAMMA toilets, known as bio-toilets, lying locked

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 29

NAMMA toilets, known as bio-toilets, installed under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan at the general waiting hall (which is next to platform No.1A) over three years ago, are now lying locked.

The eco-friendly toilets, which can convert human excreta into biogas, could face demolition if the IRCTC does not come forward for their maintenance.

The local railway authorities wrote to the IRCTC to maintain these toilets, which had to be closed due to their being in insanitary conditions. In case the IRCTC does not come forward for their maintenance, they would write to the Northern Railway’s Ferozepur division to demolish them.

The toilets, characterised by their green and white exteriors, pictorially inform separate men, women and physically challenged toilet sets. These were installed with much fanfare at the Amritsar railway station in September 2016.

A passenger, Davinder Singh, questioned the setting up of such toilets when these could not be maintained. He said it was difficult to pass the toilets as the stench pervaded all around them.

Similarly, the stretch of the railway link road outside the Amritsar railway station also cries for care. The road leading from the main entrance to platform No.1 is a picture of clutter with people and vehicles standing in large numbers there.

Karan Kakkar, a passenger, said there should be separate lanes for pedestrians, two wheelers, four wheelers and slow-moving rickshaws. This way it would provide an easy access to visitors.