9 mechanical sweepers to clean Bengaluru roads

BENGALURU: Though pothole-free roads are sometime away, we just might see cleaner stretches without dust soon. The BBMP on Monday unveiled eight big and one small mechanical sweeper that were flagged off by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

BBMP authorities said that the sweepers will be deployed in high-density corridors, arterial and sub-arterial roads to suck up dust and mud accumulated along road dividers and next to footpaths.

Bengaluru Development Minister K.G. George said, “The main roads and circles in the city are often covered in mud, causing a lot of inconvenience to commuters. Ongoing road repairs and other works add to the existing pollution. The mechanical sweepers will help improve the condition of such roads and prevent dust and pollution and related allergies."

While the bigger machines are capable of cleaning 50 km of road, the smaller one can clean up to 30 km. To avoid traffic congestion, the sweepers will be put to work between 10 pm and 4 am every alternate day, said BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad.

The machines are equipped with the GPS navigation systems to make mapping of the city easier for the drivers. The machines will be monitored through a video facility, he said.

With mechanical sweepers, the BBMP will save Rs 46 crore annually and at the end of five years, the savings would be Rs 230 crore, claimed Mayor G. Padmavathi.

Way to cleaner roads?

• Cost of  8 big mechanical sweepers is Rs.868.40 lakhs and cost of one small mechanical sweeper is Rs 47.10 lakh
• Monthly maintenance for one big sweeper is Rs 5.95 lakh and smaller one is Rs 3.30 lakh
• Cost of maintenance for five years for bigger mechanical sweepers is estimated to be Rs 19.86 crore and for smaller one Rs1.50 crore
• While bigger ones can clean up to 50 km road, smaller ones can clean up to 30 km
• They will be put to work between 10 pm and 4 am every alternate day. Based on their performance, more machines will be deployed.