Mini amphibian vehicle deployed for removing weeds from waterbodies in Velachery

The Greater Chennai Corporation has deployed its newly acquired mini amphibian vehicle for cleaning the sprawling Velachery Lake. The work of cleaning the waterbodies in Velachery has been going on for nearly three weeks.

A senior official of the civic body said an earthmover on a floating barge used to be pressed into service for removing garbage from waterbodies. It has now been replaced with a mini amphibian vehicle, specifically manufactured for cleaning waterbodies.

The civic body had deployed the vehicle for removing hyacinth and plastic wastes from the ponds at Puliyankeni (belonging to the CMWSSB), Nattar Kuttai (Revenue department), the mini-pond on the eastern side of the bypass and the Velachery Lake. The civic officials have taken up desilting of the Velachery Lake, which belongs to the Water Resources Department, using the amphibian vehicle and a grappler to clear the hyacinth. More than 300 tonnes of hyacinth and other garbage had been removed from various waterbodies in Velachery, the official said.

Based on inputs by senior officials who had gone on study tour to Europe, the Corporation had purchased the mini amphibian vehicle from Sweden. The vehicle is expected to speed up cleaning of the waterbodies in the months before the onset of northeast monsoon, the official said.