As road dust plagues Bengaluru, authorities unveil mechanical sweepers to clean up major streets

Commuters can now breathe easy as nine sweepers will clean up dust and mud along roads, footpaths and muds between 10am and 4am.
As road dust plagues Bengaluru, authorities unveil mechanical sweepers to clean up major streets
As road dust plagues Bengaluru, authorities unveil mechanical sweepers to clean up major streets
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Ridden with potholes, with garbage and mud dumped on the sides at regular intervals, and lined by damaged footpaths, Bengaluru’s roads have long been a major source of particulate pollution in the city.

In a bid to tackle road dust as a major pollution source, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike has now launched nine mechanical sweepers in the city.

The Palike unveiled eight big sweepers and one small sweeper in an inauguration flagged off by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday.

According to BBMP Commissioner, Manjunath Prasad, the mechanical sweepers will initially be deployed in major corridors, arterial and sub-arterial roads.

“These mechanical sweepers will suck up the dust on the roads, especially the mud which is accumulated on footpaths and the parts along the dividers,” Prasad added.

Bengaluru Development Minister KJ George said that the sweepers have been introduced as many major roads and junctions in the city are covered in mud, which causes inconvenience to commuters and pedestrians.

“Many roads are dug up for maintenance or repair works. The mud gets accumulated on the roadsides and adds to the pollution. The sweepers will suck up all the dirt and mud to make it cleaner,” George added.

The bigger machines will be used for cleaning 50-km stretches, and the smaller sweeper for stretches of upto 30km. They will be deployed between 10pm and 4am on alternate days to avoid traffic congestion on major roads.

Equipped with GPS navigation systems, these machines will be monitored through a video facility from the control room at the BBMP Head office near Corporation Circle, in order to keep a track of the drivers.

“Major stretches like MG Road, 100 ft Road in Indiranagar, Jayanagar Nanda Road and many others will witness these sweepers cleaning up the stretches at night,” Manjunath Prasad added.

The Palike predicts that, with the implementation of the sweepers, it will save Rs 46 crore per annum currently paid out to civic workers engaged in sweeping major roads. The Rs 230 crore that is forecasted to be accumulated at the end of five years will be used for other BBMP projects, Prasad added.

“The cost of the eight big mechanical sweepers is Rs 868.40 lakh and cost of the small mechanical sweeper is Rs 47.10 lakh. Monthly maintenance for each of the big sweeper is Rs 5.95 lakh and Rs 3.3 lakh for the smaller one,” Prasad said.

BBMP has 16 such sweepers and nine will be rolling out on to the streets from Tuesday night. These sweepers will be given to contractors, who will have to take care of their operation and maintenance.

A senior official with the Palike told TNM that mechanical sweepers have been deployed in Bengaluru in the past, but the scheme was never executed properly.

“The sweeping work was outsourced to private companies and the use of these machines to clean up the roads was very inconsistent. Hence, BBMP has decided to procure its own machines, to avoid implementation failure,” the official added. 

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