Thane: The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has deployed a
robotic arm to help clean the muck from inaccessible areas along the Parsik hill slopes above the Central Railway (CR) fast tracks at Mumbra.
The hi-tech imported machine can effortlessly access the treacherous hill slopes and move 360 degrees transporting muck or garbage, which is scooped out from the stretch. While the settlements were removed by the authorities last year, the tonnes of garbage that were dumped by the slum dwellers at the spot continued to pose a problem for the tunnel underneath.
While the railways and TMC were planning to take action, the issue got traction after it was raised during a meeting between the railway minister and elected representatives recently following which the CR requested the civic body to clear the stretch soon.
Accordingly, TMC deployed the diesel-powered robotic machine that moves on wheels and can be stationed even on slopes to remove the garbage. The cost of the machine is Rs 6 crore. The machine was brought into the city a fortnight ago and put into service recently and has been successful in clearing muck off 50 metre areas on a daily basis. So far, it has cleared 45 tonnes of garbage, said officials, who are confident of cleaning up the area by October 2.
“We are working on clearing off the entire stretch of garbage dumped here and want to convert it into a picnic zone,” said a senior civic official. Meanwhile, the CR has deployed its staff to coordinate with the TMC officers and supervise parts where the machine is operational near railway tracks to avoid any untoward incident.
“The issue was raised during a meeting between the railway minister and elected representatives recently after which the CR requested the TMC to clear off the stretch soon,” said a railway official.
