Bhubaneswar: In a first-of-its-kind initiative in Odisha, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) began two mechanical garbage suction machines (called Jatayu) with an aim of rid the city of dustbins.
BMC Mayor Sulochana Das in presence of Deputy Mayor Manjulata Kanhar and Commissioner Vijay Amruta Kulange inaugurated Jatayu Cleaning Machine at Janpath near Census Office on Friday. She also launched the equipment at District Centre in Chandrasekharpur area.
“The machine can suck 273 cubic feet (100 kg) of waste per minute, including green waste from vegetable markets, and can run for 10 hours at a stretch. It is handled by an operator with a huge suction pipe protruding out of the van like an elephant’s trunk. After the hopper of the machine is full of garbage, it should be emptied,” TOI reported BMC deputy commissioner (sanitation) Suvendu Sahu as saying.
Notably, while ‘Jagruti’ will deploy the machine for cleaning garbage from the main roads of the city, another agency named ‘Pratyush’ will clean the internal roads of the city.
“While the civic body sometimes faces an uphill task in collection and disposal of solid waste, the induction of suction machine can help clear pending waste at short notice,” added Sahu.
Sahu also said that the machine can be helpful for cleaning up big grounds such as after rallies or after any government programme. However, the usage of the machine for marriages and parties is yet to be decided.
BMC officials said that the machine may require regular maintenance and even careful handling as the suction pipe is likely to be jammed at times. A tractor or any waste transportation vehicle is required to be near it to take the bulk of waste to the micro composting centres or material recovery facility.
Sanitation standing committee chairman Biranchi Narayan Mahasupakar and other corporators were present along with senior officials including Additional Commissioners Laxmikanta Sethy, Binaya Kumar Dash, and Suryawanshi Mayur Vikash in the inauguration programme.
While the event was coordinated by deputy commissioner Sahu, Zonal deputy commissioners Priyabrata Padhi and Purandar Nanda managed the event at South East and North Zone respectively.
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