HYDERABAD: The Musi Riverfront Development Corporation Limited (MRDCL) plans to press into service two hydraulic excavators for cleaning the river in stretches between Chaderghat to the eastern part of the Outer Ring Road (ORR).
The primary purpose of these excavators is to clean the riverbed in an effective manner without human risk as part of the Musi Riverfront Development Project. The machinery can also be utilised for rescue operations during the time of natural disasters.
As part of the rejuvenation and conservation of River Musi, the MRDCL has invited tenders to prepare a simulation model for hydraulics of the river from Osmansagar to ORR near Gauravelli and from Himayatsagar to the confluence point at Bapu Ghat. The MRDCL has also invited a separate Expression of Interest (EoI) to provide consultancy services for “Aggregate Master Planning” for the project.
The Musi cleaning includes excavation of any material and removal of all debris, shrubs and overgrowth like hyacinths etc from the riverbed. The hydraulic excavators will be hired for a period of one year at an estimated cost of Rs 2.08 crore. On receipt of the Letter of Acceptance from MRDCL, the successful agency has to deploy the machinery immediately and conclude the agreement within 15 days.
The proposed machinery that would be pressed into service should be rigid and extremely powerful and shall be flexible enough to work on various terrains, but compact enough to be able to operate in small areas.
The MRDP project is aimed at rejuvenating the polluted River Musi as top priority. The state government has earmarked a whopping Rs 1,000 crore alone for the project in the vote on account budget for 2024-25 announced by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka a few days ago.
As part of this project, pedestrian zones, people’s plazas, heritage zones, bicycle tracks, green spaces, hawker zones, bridges, recreational and tourist areas, sports facilities, parking areas, commercial and retail spaces and hospitality infrastructure in the Old City will be developed.