A portable toilet which could be used by deep sea fishermen ensuring their safety and also hygiene has been designed and patented by the faculty of Kalasalingam University in Srivilliputur. Professor P Jeyakumar, the brain behind the project, said that fishermen who went deep sea fishing spent many days out at sea in the trawlers which were small in size and lacked toilet facilities. Defecation was done by these fishermen by sitting on the side or edge of the boat and clinging to the wood handle which risked falling into the sea. The professor spent many days with the fishermen in their boats to study the habits before designing the toilet. He said the fishermen who went to sea in mechanised boats, especially the ones of 49 feet length, did not have toilets in their vessels. They sat on a plank fixed outside the boat and defecated into the sea. “They do so because they do not want to contaminate the fish caught and kept on board the boat, before it is brought ashore,” he said. Hence, he designed this portable toilet, 2 x 3 feet in size which can be carried like a trolley and fixed in a corner of the vessel as a temporary measure. It has a sludge tank where the solid waste can be collected and turned into manure when the vessel returns, while the liquid waste will be discharged directly into the sea. It is made of non-corrosive fibre. A unit cost of the toilet is Rs 15,000. Professor Jeyakumar has received the patent for his pre-fabricated toilet.
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