VISAKHAPATNAM: The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) has introduced three manhole cleaning machines in the city in a step-by-step transformation from manhole to machine hole. The jet machines mounted on the vehicle will to some extent help the citizen body in mechanizing the cleaning of sewers and septic tanks.
The GVMC presented the vehicles as part of the Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge, which is carried out in 243 cities. For this purpose, two vehicles with a capacity of 6,000 liters and one vehicle with a capacity of 1,000 liters were procured at a price of around 1.25 billion rupees. The smaller vehicle is used in the narrow streets of the city.
According to GVMC officials, the blasting machines will help keep the underground drainage (UGD) network free of clogs, silt and clogs. High pressure water jets from these machines can clear a point of asphyxiation to a maximum point located four manholes away on the same UGD line. There are around 38,000 manholes within the city limits, while the UGD network extends over 780 kilometers.
GVMC Commissioner G Srijana said the move was a humble move to refer to a manhole as a “machine hole”. “This is a more respectable and humanitarian way of cleaning up the drainage,” Srijana said.
In the meantime, GVMC plans to introduce a robot manhole cleaning machine on a pilot basis within the next three months. Due to its success, more robotic machines are being added to GVMC’s sanitary inventory. The civil authority regularly receives numerous complaints about UGD leaks and overflowing manholes.
GVMC officials said the Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge will focus intensely on raising citizens’ awareness of a critical issue, as well as creating a machine cleaning infrastructure and workforce capacity building.
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