CHENNAI: A fee for a pee. Sounds hilarious.

But not so in Tiruchi in South India, where people are paid a small fee to encourage them to pee in toilets.

Each time a person visits the toilet to relieve, they receive 10 paise (RM0.77).

The Times of India yesterday reported that residents of Musiri, a small town near Tiruchi, are profiting from the creative idea, initiated by the Society for Community Organisation and People's Education (Scope).

It is a two-pronged idea, says Scope -- to encourage people in the lower middle-class to use toilets, and the urine collected is used for research, to test if it is a good fertiliser.
"In fact, many of us started using toilets for urination only after the ecosan (eco-sanitation) toilets were constructed in the area," a resident said.

Although it was the novelty of the project that initially attracted many, people have also realised the health benefits and have stopped using public spaces to relieve themselves.

"Now, even children in the locality do not urinate in the open, thanks to the 10 paise incentive," Times quoted S. Rajesekaran, 42, a lorry cleaner as saying.

Scope director M. Subramaniam said the idea emerged last year when the Tamil Nadu Agriculture University approached the organisation to do a research on urine as liquid fertiliser.

Individuals are given a card where they get a tick mark after every visit to the toilet and promised 10 paise. They are paid on a monthly basis and families in the village are reported to be earning about Rs30 (RM2.30) every month.

It is a win-win situation as researchers are getting good quantities of pure urine, about 250 litres, from 300 families in Musiri, while villagers are also making some money, said the Times. -- Bernama