THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : While most cities in the country have resorted to the usage of sweeping machines to clean roads and footpaths, the Thiruvananthapuram corporation has abandoned it citing “less dust” on roads.
As the first corporation in the state to have used the sweeper machine years ago, the city corporation had bought the truck-mounted sweeper machine for `73.5 lakh from a Coimbatore-based company. However, because of its disuse, the machine is in a rusted condition and has been lying idle in the corporation’s garage for the past 10 years.
Meanwhile, the Kochi corporation had launched a pair of truck-mounted sweeping machines earlier this month. These were procured using Rs 10.98 crore from the Cochin Smart Mission Limited (CSML) funds. The machines that can clean up to 8km in an hour were launched by LSG Minister M B Rajesh at Ponnurunni. Similarly, the Thrissur corporation has been using sweeper machines since 2020. Besides, many other cities, including Coimbatore, Chennai, Madurai, and north Indian cities like Indore and Lucknow, have also been using it for years.
The city corporation bought the machine in 2010 from Roots Multiclean Company Ltd in Coimbatore, as part of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. It was initially deployed on 42 km of the newly laid roads in the city. Since the corporation lacked technical expertise, the company itself was entrusted with its operation and maintenance for three years, for which an additional `99.69 lakh was paid to them. Though the company had applied for a renewal of the operation and maintenance contract in 2013, the corporation had declined. Since 2013, the machine has been lying idle in the garage of the corporation.
An inspection in 2021 revealed that its key parts had rusted and that repairing them was not economical as its parts would have to be imported from abroad. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on Waste Management in Urban Local Bodies tabled in the assembly in September this year observed that it is the lethargy on the corporation’s part that led to the machine rusting in the corporation garage since 2013. Opposition leader and BJP councillor M R Gopan said the party would table the issue at the council meeting as the sweeper machines are largely beneficial to the public.
“The sweeper machines are beneficial to the public as it can substitute manual labour and save time. So we strongly suggest reusing the machines on our city roads, and it will be discussed in the upcoming council meeting,” he said.
Corporation secretary Binu Francis told TNIE that the civic body had tried to repair the machine by informing the company concerned. “We had tried fixing the machine multiple times. But the company informed us that the machine cannot be repaired. They had also suggested buying back the machine. But that would cause us a huge loss. However, we don’t need sweeper machines, as the deposition of dust in the city is low and can be managed by manual labourers. There is no immediate requirement for sweeper machines. Moreover, many of the roads in the city are being maintained by the Kerala Road Fund Board and not the city corporation,” he said.
The main advantage of sweeper machines is that they can provide a deeper and more thorough cleaning than manual methods. Their mobility can allow the cleaning of large areas in a fraction of the time it would usually take.