Panaji, Sep 22 (TOI): Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday said that the BJP-run coalition government was working on a proposal to convert discarded Kadamba buses into portable toilets and mobile garbage collection centres on a trial basis.

He said that he has requested Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) to share the existing biodigester technology with the Goa government.

The chief minister suggested that if the trial was successful, the government would roll out "mobile garbage collection centers and mobile toilets" across the state, especially for major public events such as fairs, zatras and feasts.

"The old buses in Goa are discarded and are sold for scrap for about Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh. I told the waste management corporation to convert one old bus into a toilet on a trial basis and convert one old bus into a mobile garbage collection centre," Parrikar said.

Parrikar requested DRDO for permission and the technical know-how to modify existing portable toilets so that they can be retrofitted on buses and utilized for a longer period. The chief minister was speaking at the Industry Conclave on Food Technologies, organized by Goa State Industries Association (GSIA), directorate of industries, trade and commerce and DRDO, at a hotel in the state capital.

DRDO has already shared its technology with local entrepreneur and GSIA president Rajkumar Kamat.

Parrikar pointed out that current portable toilets had to be towed and parked where required and this towing process was cumbersome. Parrikar held a meeting with Goa Waste Management Corporation on Wednesday to discuss the proposal based on which the discarded buses will be designed.

"These discarded vehicles cannot run too much but for 10-15 kilometers the engine can provide for a good mobile toilet and garbage collection centre," the chief minister said.