Hidden cost of urban convenience in Kashmir

By: Er. Mohammad Ashraf Fazili (Former Chief Engineer)

The Kashmir valley once boasted of the purest water bodies but with the rapid growth of population and urbanization most of the water bodies got polluted due to the prevailing insanitary conditions.

Till recent past all houses in the city, towns and villages had dry pit latrines and early morning the vegetable farmers or scavengers in the city would collect the night soil from the latrines of the houses in long conical baskets called yatchis hanging on their backs and would allow this night soil to decompose in their farmyards and cover it with ashes. Also, the scavengers of SMC would collect the night soil from the houses and dump the same in open pits at Noorbagh to allow it to decompose. In rural areas the night soil from the open pit latrines was used in their respective vegetable gardens as a compost.

Hence till this arrangement prevailed there was minimum pollution of water bodies. However, with the introduction of municipal water taps to the households and with the construction of pucca lanes and drains in the city and towns, the people found it easy to allow the raw night soil to flow into the open drains which would ultimately discharge into the water bodies thus polluting these. Thus, in Srinagar city Dal Lake, other water channels like Nalla Mar and its channels, besides river Jhelum fell victim to this pollution thus resulting into waterborne diseases. Similarly in rural areas too the water channels used for drinking and washing got polluted.

However, with the rapid urbanization and expansion of city limits some people moved to the outskirts and built houses with compounds where they could afford to build modern latrines with septic tanks and soakage pits but still major section of population continued to reside in the old city and continued with the existing arrangement.

In view of this alarming situation, it was during eighties that Urban Environmental Engineering Department (UEED) headed by Er. G.R. Mir Chief Engineer and I, being the Xen S&D Division, tied up with UNICEF to launch a Low-Cost Sanitation Scheme in Srinagar city, when UNICEF teams filmed documentaries of the existing system of disposal of raw sewage through open drains in to water bodies thereby adversely affecting the health of people and children. Mr. Dan O’Dell the advisor from UNICEF, made frequent visits here and a few demonstration units of low cost twin pit latrines were constructed in a few households in Srinagar with UNICEF assistance. Also Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak the founder of Sulabh International from Bihar, was invited to share his experience in this regard who had succeeded in establishing this program in Patna Bihar and other states of the country besides becoming an advisor to 21 countries under UNDP.

The UEED launched a campaign by publishing pamphlets in Urdu and English languages for common distribution besides publishing posters explaining in pictures the adverse results of pollution by open defecation etc. The pamphlets were distributed free of cost among people including the employees of the Secretariate and S&D division Jammu. Boards in Urdu language were fixed at focal points like Karan Nagar Chowk B.Ed. College premises etc. A two-day workshop was also held by UNICEF at Pahalgam chaired by Dr. Cousins advisor UNICEF South Asia in which I too participated.

The areas selected for low-cost sanitation in Srinagar city were the left bank of river Jhelum and western bank of Nigeen Lake. The project was later handed over to SMC for implementation. The Rural Development Department also found this program adaptable for rural areas. A survey of the existing situation in various towns was also conducted along with UNDP team filling the desired proforma.

The pour-flush latrine consists of a squatting pan of a specific design (having a steep gradient at the bottom and the particular depth) and trap having 20 mm water seal. It is so designed that the human excreta of a person can be flushed by pouring 2 liters of water. The excreta is discharged into the leaching pits constructed in the house or a compound or where it is not possible to do so for lack of space, the pit can be constructed under a footpath or a street. The squatting pan is connected to the leaching pit through a pipe or covered drain. These pits are lined with honeycomb brick work or open jointed stone so as to allow liquid in the pits to percolate and gases to be absorbed in the soil and at the same time prevent the pit from collapsing. The sludge gets digested and settles down gradually.

The twin pits are used alternatively. When one pit is filled it stops being used and the excreta is diverted to the second pit. The filled-up pit is left unused and in 24 months the contents become rich organic humus, innocuous free of pathogen and smell. When convenient it is then ready to be put back into use when the second pit becomes full in its turn.

With simple care and cleaning by the household, the pour flush latrine is a very satisfactory and hygienic sanitation system. This can be located inside the house, since water-seal prevents odor or nuisance.

Size of pit: The size of leach pits depends on several factors such as soil characteristics, sub-soil water level, interval of cleaning, number of users and peoples food habits. The studies in India have indicated that under dry conditions per capita per year sludge contribution is about 0.045 cubic meters. The dimensions of leaching pits for different numbers of users for three years are as under:

No. of users Internal diameter (mm) Effective depth(mm)

05 900 1,300

10 1,100 1,400

15 1,250 1,600

Shape of the pit: The shape of the pits can be circular, rectangular or a combination of the two. However, circular pits should be constructed wherever feasible as these are more stable. Many innovations were tried here but ultimately the anerobic process with circular pits was found most suitable for our needs.

Leach pit configuration and materials used for its construction can readily be varied to suit the site conditions. In case of space constraints an oval pit with a partition wall or pits of smaller diameter and higher depts could be provided.

In unsaturated zones where ground water tables are more than 2 meters below the bottom of pit and soil is of less than 1.00 mm effective size, leach pits could be located even at 3 meters away from wells or hand pumps used for domestic purposes. Where the water table is shallow and soil contains coarse sand or gravel, pollution travel can be checked by providing 500 mm thick envelope of fine sand (average size not more than o.2 mm) all around the pits and sealing the bottom with clay or polythene sheet.

The distance between leaching pits and house foundation depends on the depth of leach pits, foundation depth of the building and its structural condition. However, for an average condition about 1 meter is enough.

Maintenance: The maintenance of a pour-flush latrine is very easy and simple. Day-to-day maintenance consists of washing latrine floor and cleaning the pan. No other maintenance cost is needed. The cost of cleaning the pits can be covered by the sale of humus obtained from the pits.

Pan and Trap: The squatting pan and trap can be ceramic, fiber glass reinforced polyester plastic (GRP) or cement.

Cost: The cost of pour-flush latrine, including super structure, amounted to Rs. 2,500/- in Srinagar in eighties. The present cost can be worked out from the quantities described below:

Material required:

S.no. Material Seat, pit & drain Seat, pit & superstructure & drain

01. Bricks 815 nos. 1138 nos.

02. Sand 0.802 Cum. 1.057 Cum

03. Bajri 0.211 Cum. 0.211 Cum.

04. Cement 3. 5 bags 5.00 bags

05. 6mm iron 16 Kgs 16 Kgs

06. Timber Kail —- 0.08 Cum.

                            Budloo 0.0172 Cum.

07. C.G.I. Sheets —— 15 Kgs.

08. 2.5” Hinges —- 02 nos.

09. 2” Nails —– 01 Kg.

10. Hooks —– 02 nos.

11. WC Pan &

       Water Seal 01 no. 01 no.

The cost can be worked out on the present market rates.

Similarly for disposal of decomposable solid wastes twin pits of one meter diameter and one meter depth were recommended to deposit the waste in one foot layers each layer to be covered with lime and allow it to rest till the second pit is filled with the waste. The waste decompose to become an organic compost useful for kitchen gardens besides reducing pressure on SMC.