Monday, February 24, 2025
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Tynsong opens 1st bio-digester toilets

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Nongbah:Myrdon Village in Ri Bhoi district gets the first ever bio-digester toilets in Meghalaya and the North East.  Myrdon Village under the leadership of the Rangbah Shnong, Bipul Thangkhiew  had earlier donated about 5 acres of land to the Government for creation of the Rural Technology Centre. Minister for Community and Rural Development, Prestone Tynsong  inaugurated this innovative toilet – a technology borrowed from the Antarctic region.
Biodigester Septic Tank (BST) is an on-site sanitation unit that utilizes anaerobic technology for the disposal of faecal matter, toilet (black) wastewater as well as of kitchen and bathroom (grey) water, in a closed system. This technology replaces the septic tanks and absorption pits which scientists say are not viable for a hilly area like Meghalaya. The tank only needs to be fed with inoculum, a kind of bacteria that converts faecal matter to manure. Currently the inoculums is being developed in a research station at Guwahati and is readily available.
This is a low-cost toilet which could well turn Meghalaya into a state where open defecation will be a thing of the past and consequently the number of water borne diseases too would be greatly curtailed.
While addressing the villagers of Myrdon village, Tynsong said he first heard of this technology at the Centre for Innovation in Public Systems (CIPS) Hyderabad, headed by retired IAS officer, D Chakrapani. Tynsong and had visited this place at the behest of Principal Secretary, C & RD, KN Kumar. The duo along with Chakrapani then visited Lakshwadeep to see for themselves how the biodigesters worked very successfully in that island. It was then that Tynsong felt Meghalaya should also benefit from this technology.
Exhorting the villagers of Myrdon to partner with the Government, Tynsong said, ‘Never say that the Government alone can do something for the people. Ask instead what you can do for your family, society, village and the state. We need two hands to clap and Government can only succeed if people actively partner with us,” Tynsong added.
Reminding people that environmental protection is paramount in Meghalaya, Tynsong who is also the Minister for Forest and Environment, said on June 5 this year which is World Environment Day, an  official programme will be held at Nongpoh where one lakh trees are earmarked to be planted on that day in the entire Ri Bhoi District. “If we cut a tree we are cutting down and destroying a generation, since one tree takes at least 50 years to grow. Let every member of each family plant a sapling on June 5,” Tynsong urged.
Meanwhile CIPS has trained 7 young, ‘competent’ engineers to launch the bio-digester  project in the state. They were sent for further training to Gwalior. Now the engineers are ready to get into action.
Earlier, environmentalist  C Srinivasan popularly known as Vellore Srinivasan who has revolutionised waste management in Vellore and several places in South India and had recently trained 74 people from Myrdon and adjoining villages, explained his concept ‘Solid and Liquid Resource Management’ (SLRM) to the audience. In Srinivasan’s book there is nothing called waste since mostly everything can be turned into a resource which is either manure or money.
The trained personnel demonstrated how leaf waste (mulch) can be turned into manure in 60 days by applying cow dung and cow’s urine ( which according to Srinivasan is a rich source of hormones). The bacteria acts on the dry leaves and turns it into rich manure which enhances soil fertility. “We have seen how fruit trees have increased their yield by four times,” Srinivasan said.
“Meghalaya is fortunate to avail the technology which has been tested in several other states and after much improvement is now ready for application,” Srinivasan explained. He however cautioned that the silver lined packages such as those containing Uncle Chips etc., continue to remain the biggest challenge because there is as yet no technology to tackle this sort of waste.
It may be mentioned that Myrdon Village is quietly following in the footsteps of Mawlynnong billed as Asia’s cleanest village. Indeed what stand out are the red and green buckets (for inorganic and organics waste respectively) hanging from trees in the village to be used by passers- by.
Nongbah-Myrdon has been nurtured by Deputy Director, SIRD, Banteilang Rumnong since 2011. “We have worked closely with the people here. It’s been a slow process but worth the while when we see the transformation of the village,” Rumnong said adding that the Rangbah Shnong, B Thangkhiew has an open, progressive mind and is keen to partner with the Government for the overall benefit of the village.
At the end of the inaugural function the villagers of Myrdon village took a solemn oath to keep their village clean at all times and not to burn leaves or any form of garbage.

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