THE Indian soldiers deployed in the icy vastness of the Siachen glacier encounter depression, frostbite, pulmonary oedema, cerebral oedema and disturbed sleep. Apart from these they faced a peculiar problem earlierdisposal of human waste. The waste did not degrade, and mixed with the meltwater that coursed down to the lower altitudes and gave rise to waterborne diseases.
The Gwalior-based Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE), a premier laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, studied the problem. That was also when a DRDO team detected a consortium of psychrophilic bacteria that could survive the icy-cold weather of Antarctica and low oxygen levels. An inoculum of this group of bacteria was introduced into Siachen. This group not only survived but also converted human waste into water, methane and carbon dioxide; very little solid matter remained. The water was clean though not potable. This biodigester, in the form of the bio-toilet, heralded a movement against open defecation.
The introduction of bio-toilets has become a national mission in a situation where only 30 per cent of Indians have access to public toilets. In the rural areas, only 10 per cent of homes have toilets.
Only 250 of the 400 cities/towns in the country have sewerage systems. Many of them do not have treatment plants and the bulk of the sewage flows untreated into lakes, rivers and the sea.
Andhra Pradesh and Orissa have gone for these bio-toilets in a big way, said M.P. Kaushik, Director, DRDE. Fifty thousand bio-toilets are to be installed in 1,000 gram panchayats in the two States. Lakshadweep, too, will soon have 12,000 of them, Kaushik added.
The Indian Railways has installed these toilets in six trains and plans to install them in 10,000 railway coaches in the coming years. Hundreds of the toilets, painted in eye-catching colours, were installed on roadsides during the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. The Save Ganga project personnel plan to have them installed during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad in January-February next year.
W. Selvamurthy, Chief Controller (Life Sciences and International Relations), DRDO, explained how the toilet works. The bacteria eat the human waste. Ninety-nine per cent is degraded and one per cent becomes sludge. There is no foul smell.
The inoculum, or bacterial culture, is introduced into a tank made of mild steel, stainless steel or fibre-reinforced plastic, which is connected to the toilet. K. Sekhar, former Director, DRDE, during whose tenure the laboratory pioneered the biodigester, said: The inoculum looks like a viscous liquid. When human waste falls into the tank, the bacteria degrade the waste and convert it into clean water and usable manure.
The process involved microbial and anaerobic degradation of human waste, explained D.V. Kamboj, a scientist with the DRDE.
Bio-toilets installed in villages will have a baffle, or arrester, made of spongy material, in the tank to prevent the bacteria from going out of the system. This will prevent pollution of groundwater and contamination of wells.
The technology used in the toilets has been transferred to 33 companies, which will make both stationary and mobile bio-toilets. Listing the advantages of the toilet, Kaushik said it did not emit foul smell and left no solid residue. The water that collects in the tank is let out through a tap.
The toilets need minimal maintenance and there are no recurring costs. Conventional toilet-cleaning agents can be used.
The DRDE is one of nine Life Sciences laboratories of the DRDO. The others are the Defence Institute of High Altitude Research in Leh, the Defence Food Research Laboratory in Mysore, the Defence Bio-Engineering and Electro-Medical Laboratory in Bangalore, the Defence Institute of Bio-Energy Research in Haldwani, the Defence Research Laboratory in Tezpur, and the Defence Institute of Physiology & Allied Sciences, the Defence Institute of Psychological Research, and the Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences, all three in New Delhi.
These laboratories have developed a stunning variety of technologies and products to keep the forces fighting fit, be they in the rarefied altitudes of Siachen or Leh, in the deserts of Rajasthan, in the dense forests of the north-eastern region, in low-intensity conflict (LIC) areas and in ships, submarines, battle tanks and fighter aircraft. The products range from technologies for detection, protection and decontamination during nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) warfare. An instant water purifier is in the shape of a straw, which a person can carry in his shirt or trouser pocket. There are kits to detect arsenic poisoning in water; antidotes for cyanide poisoning; oxygen-providing life-support systems for aircraft pilots; escape suits for submarine crew; and survival jackets for air crew. They also make mosquito repellents and anti-malarial drugs; medical kits to detect diseases such as swine flu, chikungunya, and typhoid, herbal solutions for toothache, and cream to treat frostbite.
The DRDE laboratory has divisions for virology, biotechnology, pharmacology and toxicology, entomology and vector management, process technology development, and vertox. There is a discovery centre too.
Our core competencies lie in defence against chemical weapons and biological warfare agents, and developing antidotes against chemical warfare agents in laboratory-scale and pilot-scale plants, said Kaushik. The DRDE scientists can detect chemical warfare agents at trace levelparts per millionin soil, water and air, or as a solvent. They also have come up with equipment to test water contamination and to detect nerve agents and biological weapons.
The DRDE has the technology to detect chemical warfare agents even in samples of soil or water from areas suspected to be contaminated by them. A three-colour detector (TCD) paper developed by it helps detect aerosol and droplets of chemical warfare agents. The paper, worn on the shirt sleeve, changes colour depending on the agent usedbe it a blood-choking agent, a blister-causing agent (such as sulphur mustard) or nerve agent (such as sarin and soman). The Indian TCD is as good as the imported ones, which are five times costlier. It has meant saving of foreign exchange of more than Rs.10 crore, said Kaushik. The technology has been transferred to several industries in Gwalior, Pune, Mumbai, Bhopal and New Delhi. Other detection devices are water poison kit, portable gas chromotograph, nerve agent detector and residual vapour detection kit.
The DRDE has decontamination technologies against chemical and biological warfare agents in buildings, ships, and so on. It has also developed a personal decontamination kit that uses the adsorption technique to act against chemical agents on the human body, clothing, shoes and personal weapons. All this has made India self-reliant in NBC defence preparedness, Kaushik said.
In terms of providing protection from NBS warfare, the DRDE has developed a suit with help from the Defence Bio-engineering and Electromedical Laboratory (DEBEL), Bangalore, and the Defence Materials and Stores Research and Development Establishment (DMSRDE), Kanpur. It protects the wearer against toxic vapours, aerosols, and droplets of chemical and biological warfare agents.
For collective protection, the DRDE has developed different types of filters that can be used in submarines and shelters where the environment has been rendered toxic.
We have made a commitment to the defence services that we will deliver 12 NBC defence products, said Kaushik. Of them, two have already been deliveredthe mobile sensor and the 24x7 fixed, stand-alone, flame photometry-based detection system. Other products on cue are nano-material based decontaminants; multi-insect repellent cream and attracticide; antidotes and prophylactic agents for sulphur mustard, nerve agents and cyanide poisoning; and three mobile laboratories.
The antidote for cyanide poisoning is awaiting clearance from the Drugs Controller General of India. MIADSMA (mono isomyl dimethyl mercapto succinic acid) is the antidote the DRDE has developed to combat arsenic in groundwater. Gallium arsenide used in integrated circuit chips, such as those used in mobile phones, can pollute groundwater used to irrigate crops. Assam and West Bengal have faced this problem.
The DRDE has the expertise to detect biological warfare agents that cause plague, anthrax, glanders, melioidosis, brucellosis, and so on, and also viral agents such as dengue, Japanese encephalitis, chikungunya, avian influenza and variola major which causes smallpox.
In the Virology Division, we work on bio-defence against viral agents and we do detection, characterisation, protection and product development, said M.M. Parida, DRDE Joint Director. The rapid-strip test, the latest in the field, has revolutionised the detection of viral agents that cause anthrax, plague, typhoid, dengue and diabetes, he said. While laboratory-based trial takes three to four weeks to confirm the presence of viral agents, here, we have qualitative and quantitative gene-based technology, he said. Once the virus is detected, it is characterised and then protection is taken against it.
The laboratory is using data on dengue in India for the past 12 years to develop a vaccine.
The Vector Management group under the Entomology Division of the DRDE does yeoman service in protecting soldiers posted in the border areas. They have to be protected from anthropod vectors such as mosquitoes, insects, ticks and mites, said B.D. Parashar, former Head, Entomology Division. The Vector Management group has come up with Maxo, Mosguard and DEPA (diethyl phenyl acetamide) creams to repel mosquitoes. Twenty years of research has gone into the DEPA, said D. Sukumaran, Deputy Director, Entomology Division. The technology has been transferred to many industries and the cream is available to both defence personnel and civilians, he said. DEPA is available in cream and spray forms.
The anti-cockroach products from the DRDE stable are Roachtox, a tablet, and Roachline, a chalk, both of which can kill cockroaches nibbling it.
An important project done by the Entomology Division was to build a database on diseases transmitted by vectors in the border areas. Sukumaran said, We completed this project in five years, from 2003 to 2008.
For the paramilitary forces posted in Jammu and Kashmir and in States where naxalites are active, grenades and shells with the hottest Assam chilli extract in them a godsend. These grenades and shells can be used to incapacitate terrorists and to flush them out of their hideouts, said Manisha Sathe, scientist, DRDE. They could also be used to disperse rioting mobs. The grenade developed by the Process Technology Development Division of the DRDE comes in two varieties: oleoresin (OR)-based and dibenz oxazepine, or CR-based. The DRDE has also developed a launcher to fire shells containing the CR-based munition.
OR-based grenades would suffocate terrorists and make them cough, thus forcing them to reveal their presence, said Kaushik, who is the architect of the Process Technology Development Division. CR-based grenades will cause a burning sensation and irritation, and a militant would not be able to hold his firearm.
A private company in Hyderabad is manufacturing these grenades. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Army, the Rashtriya Rifles and the State police in Jammu and Kashmir, and other paramilitary forces are armed with them.
The versatility of the technologies and products developed by the DRDE is amazing. V.K. Saraswat, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister and DRDO Director-General, said: This laboratory stands out among the first five laboratories of the DRDO because of its contribution to academics, patents, research papers and product delivery. The role played in the destruction of chemical weapons under the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons [Netherlands] has given an international recognition to the DRDE/DRDO.
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