To free Vizag from manual rummaging, Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) will use robots to clean manholes. The city council has procured machines (both manual and robotic) to clean the sewer openings and clear clogged drains across the city.
The vehicles were presented as part of the Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge, which was introduced in 243 urban parishes and towns. The challenge was announced in Vizag in November with the introduction of vehicles designed to address the problem of overflowing drains.
The vehicles mentioned have a limit of 6,000 liters and 1,000 liters of displacement. While the larger capacity vehicle is used to clean deeper manholes, the 1,000 liter machines are used to clean shallow drains with a maximum depth of 1 to 2 meters.
Among the advertised machines, GVMC will introduce two robotic machines on the streets of Vizag. These robots are able to clear the manholes up to 10 meters deep with extreme precision and minimal supervision. This means that the machine can be controlled remotely around the clock. With high quality cameras and sensors that can detect the presence of toxic gases, these ‘Bandicoot’ machines are set to revolutionize the urban wastewater treatment system.
K Venu Gopal, the superintendent engineer for water supply and underground drainage management, GVMC, told Yo! Vizag that the use of such robots is intended to eliminate the noxious and dangerous environments that plumbing workers find themselves in and subsequently reduce the lives lost in the process. Mr Venu Gopal also announced that the shipment of the vehicles will be delivered within a week, followed by the introduction of safer and more hygienic cleaning of sewers and drains in Vizag.
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