The Deccan Herald 13.10.2010
Clean city aided by technology
Sreekantswamy B, Mysore, Oct 12, DH News Service:
If you find roads and footpaths clean for ‘Jamboo Savari’, thank Mysore City Corporation (MCC) that has finally kept up its promise.
The civic body has added two footpath cleaning machines to its kitty, while sweeping machine is expected to arrive on October 15, two days ahead of the grand finale.
The trial of footpath cleaning machines was conducted on Purandara road (a stretch between B Rachaiah Circle and Sahukar Channaiah Kusti Akhada passing through CADA office) on October 11 and it has been satisfactory, according to the authorities.
MCC Commissioner K S Rayker told Deccan Herald, it is intended to launch both the machines before ‘jamboo savari’.
Explaining about the features of footpath cleaners, health officer Dr Nagaraj said the machines run on German technology. They are manually operated machines which works on the same lines as a vacuum cleaner. They run on diesel and emit minimum sound. The company has been entrusted with the task of operation and maintenance (O&M) for five years. MCC will pay Rs 57,000 as maintenance charges per machine that combined together costs Rs 15 lakh to the Corporation. Plans are afoot to deploy it along ‘jamboo savari’ route on the eve of the event, he added.
Sweeping machine priced at Rs 91 lakh is imported from Johnstan Company in England. It has been mounted on a truck adhering to the required procedures at Pune. The machine was finalised after consulting experts at Bharath Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) Bangalore and other experts in Mysore. Like the footpath cleaning machines, the company has been entrusted with O&M of sweeping machines for five years. MCC will pay Rs three lakh and above as maintenance charges per month. It consumes seven litres of diesel per hour on job. It has the capacity to clean 60 ft road in three and a half hours. For example all it may need to clean a stretch of New Sayyaji Rao Road from K R Circle to Government Ayurvedic Hospital circle is one hour, Nagaraj said. Mysore will be the second after Bidar to procure the similar type of machine.
The machines will be deployed during night hours, a perfect time to cleanse prominent roads of the city uninterruptedly without huge traffic and pedestrians movement.
