Bhubaneswar, Feb. 16: Take a stroll from the marketplace to the railway station and back and you might find a toilet following you around.

In a bid to provide quality civic services to city residents, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has decided to execute a "toilets on wheels" project in the here in the near future. Similar models have already been set in motion in far-away San Francisco and not-so-far Pune.

The civic body has decided to convert discarded buses to cater to the sanitation needs of the public. The corporation will avail funds from the Odisha Urban Infrastructure Development Fund to execute the toilet-on-wheels project.

"We have discussed the design and decided to have an individual entrance for each toilet unit from the exterior of the buses. There will be an over-head water tank and a waste collection unit at the bottom. The buses will have solar panels for power generation," said a housing and urban development department official.

For waste disposal, a septic tank will be placed under ground at a few identified places. The waste will be discharged into these tanks from where septage vehicles will drain out the waste and dispose of it at a designated sewerage treatment plant.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said the civic body had decided to introduce the flexi toilets in the city last year. Various options were explored and finally, the corporation decided to introduce toilets on wheels.

"The 'toilets on wheels' is the most preferable option and also very cost effective. We will have a pilot phase first and then go ahead with the full execution," said Jena.

The officials have also decided that the mobile toilet units will operate in shifts.

"The toilet units will be placed in different slums in the morning hours and public places such as the marketplaces, railway station and other areas in the evening. We will refurbish two to three buses at first and introduce them on a pilot basis," said another housing and urban development department official.

The municipal corporation in January last year had decided to set up 100 mobile toilets at different locations of the city and recently it was decided to procure the funds from the Odisha Urban Infrastructure Development Fund for execution of the project. Sources said the civic body would include the project in its annual budget this year.

"The concept sounds good. I have never seen such a facility. The administration is acting smart by introducing unique services. I hope the facility is introduced soon. They would not only serve our sanitary needs but also add to the city's image," said corporate employee Nirad Mishra.