Compact steel structures, currently under construction at three major locations of the temple city, seem to have sparked a sense of inquiry among denizens and devotees. Failing to blend in with the surroundings, these futuristic cabins have garnered a stream of curious onlookers, who have interrogated the workers repeatedly about its function. These are nothing but the state-of-the-art, fully automated e-Toilets, soon to be introduced by the Municipal Corporation of Tirupati (MCT).

These toilets, developed by a private company – Eram Scientific, will be set up at three arterial junctions in the city – two cabins each (for men and women) at Central Bus Station and near pilgrim amenities complex – Vishnu Nivasam i.e., opposite to Railway Parcel Office. The third one, comprising of a single cabin, will come up at Urban SP Office near NTR Circle.

Speaking to The Hindu, Municipal Engineer B. Chandrasekhar welcomed the introduction of automated toilets and explained about their functioning. The unit, which costs Rs.5.5 lakh, houses all the information about its usage, in local languages. It has exits and hooters to alert people outside in case of any emergency.

“People can use these toilets by inserting a nominal amount of Rs.2/5, which is yet to be finalised by the Municipal Corporation. Subsequently, the door is opened and occupancy of the cabin is displayed outside. After every five uses, it automatically flushes the floor and has tissues/napkins for the people using it,” he added.

Mr. Chandrasekhar said that the toilets would require less human intervention as inbuilt sensors monitor the situation of the cabins. “The corporation is building tanks at the respective facilities to address water shortage and the company’s service engineer would be training engineers and workers for six months,” he maintained.

The project was a result of an extensive survey conducted in the city and the officials are contemplating to introduce more units based on the feedback of present ones.