GUWAHATI, Sept 16 - As part of the much-awaited Smart City project, the people of Guwahati will get their first facilities like smart bio-toilets and water ATMs, which will be inaugurated at a function here on September 20 next.
Officials of the Guwahati Smart City Limited (GSCL) said that in the first phase, 14 smart bio-toilets and seven water ATMs will be commissioned. This project will cost around Rs 11 crore.
Water ATMs, where people will get uninterrupted supply of drinking water on payment, are ready to be set up at the Nehru Stadium, Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), B Barooah Cancer Institute, Dispur Circle Office, Sarumotoria near Dispur Police Station, Inter-State Bus Terminus and near the Veterinary College field.
The installation of water ATMs in Chandmari, Judges� Field, Mahendra Mohan Choudhary Hospital (MMCH), Fancy Bazar, Machkhowa, Sonaram HS School, Food Villa at Panbazar, DC Office, Gorchuk vegetable market, Bhootnath, Dharapur and Nak Kata Pukhuri is underway and will be ready in the next phase.
Another water ATM, earlier proposed to be set up in the Kamakhya area, will now be shifted to the Gandhi Mandap premises and will be ready to be commissioned soon.
According to the GSCL, the water ATMs will use reverse osmosis technology and have different dispensing capacities of 250 ml, 1 litre, 5 litres and 20 litres. The tank is made of stainless steel and will have chiller facility and will dispense water after receiving payment in coins.
The Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) and the Public Health Engineering Department will supply the water to these ATMs.
On the other hand, smart bio-toilets, which can also be used by the public on payment, will be commissioned near Judges� Field, LGBI airport, GMCH, B Barooah Cancer Institute, near Sonaram field, Mahavir Udyan, Azara Civil Hospital, Assam State Zoo, Dispur Circle Office, Assam Engineering Institute, near Machkhowa Idgah, near Pathar Quarry police point, Kamakhya temple and Regional Science Centre.
In the next phase, smart bio-toilets will also come up at Nehru Stadium, Gorchuk vegetable market, Basistha temple, Jalukbari, Dharapur, Sarusajai Stadium, MMCH, Nehru Park, Tarun Ram Phookan Park, near Food Villa, Shradhanjali Kanan, and Bhootnath, the official said.
Earlier, such toilets were also proposed to be set up near the APSC office, Sankardev Udyan, Kahikuchi Bazar and the Dispur Super Market. But, due to technical reasons, those sites were cancelled.
According to the GSCL, these bio-toilets will have a load capacity of 200 defecations per day. These are made of stainless steel having unit dimension up to 170 sq ft, consisting a digester of 10,000-litre capacity. It will also be disabled-friendly and will be open from 6 am to 10 pm.
The Smart City project was started in Guwahati in 2016. But, till now, no real-time progress has been seen. The other projects include development of the Bharalu river, Morabharalu river, Borsola Beel, Deepor Beel and Brahmaputra riverfront, etc.
�In the initial stage, the State government had taken up large-size projects under the Smart City project. So, it delayed the overall work. Now, we are planning to carry out small projects, so that the work gets some mileage,� a GSCL official said.
