HYDERABAD: Manual scavenging will soon be a thing of the past in the city. The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) is all set to introduce rotometic sewer croc, sewer jetting and suction cleaning machines in all its Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Divisions in the next two months.
These sewer-cleaning robots require a human operator to just stand near the manhole, and with its cameras, a robotic arm with 360-degree mobility and a handy bucket to collect the waste, they do the rest. “We’re going to procure rotometic sewer croc cleaning machines for manning, operation and maintenance of sewer network to avoid sewerage overflows in all O&M Divisions in about two months time. We will be inviting tenders shortly,” HMWS&SB Managing Director M Dana Kishore said.
The robot uses a camera to identify blockages, and then its powerful water jet and cutting system flushes them out in the sewer line. After the pilot project launched in SR Nagar Division proved successful, the Water Board decided to extend it all the divisions to replace manual scavenging.
Speaking to Express, the HMWS&SB officials said that sewer croc, named after its reptilian look, is about a half a metre long and is fitted with powerful blades and spring-loaded wheels that let it manoeuvre sewage pipes. It comes with a rover camera that manoeuvres 360 degrees to locate solid waste material. The machine, made of corrosion-resistant steel, is powered by a high-velocity water jet. It is light and easy, it can be operated by manual scavengers without entering the manhole.
The officials said that the HMWS&SB also proposes to take up desilting of sewer network of core city and peripheral areas of Hyderabad, including attending to sewerage overflows, by deploying sewer croc and robotic camera system with sewer jetting and suction cleaning machine for 200mm-dia to 400mm-dia pipelines.
Training programme on septage mgmt held
Nearly 150 persons took part in the training programme on Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (FSSM) organised by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) in collaboration with various NGOs and Engineering Staff College of India (ESCI) at HMWS&SB head office Khairatabad on Monday