Robotic scavenger introduced to keep Greater Noida sewers clean

GREATER NOIDA: Adding another feat, Greater Noida on Friday became one of the few cities in the country which are on the way to becoming free from manual scavenging. While some southern cities have already deployed technology to keep the sewerage network clean, municipal bodies in the north are yet to follow suit.
Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority, launched the robotic machine that will be used to clean sewer. The machine was deployed to remove sludge from a semi-choked line in Delta 2. Equipped with a drone unit, the arm or extraction unit of the machine is launched inside a manhole. Operators can move around the arm with the help of live feed and move around the arm to a distance of up to 8 metre.
Chief executive officer of the authority, Narendra Bhooshan said that labourers and workers will not be required to enter the manholes anymore. “We had taken feedback from officers in Hyderabad where the same machine was being used. It is easy to operate and give effective results,” added Bhooshan.
Authority also inducted the super suction machine with a dump truck and pressed it into service on Friday at sector Zeta 1. All this while, authority had equipment to clean 70-metre of sewerage line at one go. But with the added resources, it will be able to clean 120-metre length now on.
While the robotic machine cost Rs 40 lakh, the suction cum dump truck was procured at the cost of Rs 1.20 crore. Authority also floated two numbers (859810523 and 859814470) through which people residents can lodge their complaints pertaining to overflowing manholes.
Officials said that within the past one year, the sewerage discharge of the town has gone up from 30 million litre per day to 65 million litre per day. Moreover the map of the sewerage network, which was never prepared for Greater Noida, is also being readied.