Hyderabad: Noticing that the dust kicked up by mechanised sweeping machines was not being cleared by workers, result in the dust settling back on the roads again, GHMC commissioner B. Janardhan Reddy has directed zonal officers to inspect the machines for defects.
Each machine sweeps over five kilometres of road an hour. That includes cleaning and dust collection. Most of the 30 machines purchased at a cost of nearly Rs 20 crore are lying idle.
In 2015 GHMC privatised mechanised sweeping of main roads in the city. For the current fleet, the civic body pays about Rs 1,200 per hour to big sweeping machines and Rs 700 for small machines which include diesel and maintenance charges.
The GHMC has hired 18 compact heavy-duty vacuum sweepers with a single engine. On roads being swept by private agencies, the garbage has to be removed by the contractor. Motorists who travel during the early hours of the day have been facing problems of dust and many complained of burning eyes, sneezing, cough and allergies.
Worst hit are the morning walkers. Mr Subhash Anand, owner of an aluminum outlet in Ranigunj, said, “The vehicle functions for more than 20 minutes on one road and kicks up so much dust that only after the sweeping is done can we open the store.”
Dr Janardhan Reddy has ordered checks to ascertain whether night sweeping is being done properly, whether the brooms on the machines are working and whether pavements are being swept. He ordered cleaning works including the mopping of specified roads, kerbs, sidewalks and side drains attached to the roads on a daily basis, using vacuum sweepers.
