There's no trace of Coimbatore's manhole-cleaning robots bought for Rs2cr in 2020

Coimbatore: The city corporation is yet to put to use the five manhole-cleaning robots - bandicoots - that it purchased at a cost of Rs2.12 crore in July 2020. All the five machines are in an abandoned state, even as contract workers continue to indulge in manual scavenging in the city.

An official said the bandicoots were not used after the pilot runs as the sanitary workers were not trained in handling them. Surprisingly, corporation officials were unable to say where the bandicoots were in now. The bandicoots were sponsored by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, which met 90% of the cost. The civic body had to bear only the remaining 10% of the expenses.

Another source, however, said the city corporation had outsourced the operation and maintenance of bandicoots this January and trained sanitary workers in handling the same. "Still, these manhole-cleaning robots are not being put to use."

The advantage of bandicoots is that they could perform the work of five humans in a shorter time span, the source said. "These robotic machines simplify cleaning of manholes and clearing of clogged drains by using pressurized water jet. Bandicoots could also be used to remove silt and debris in sewer."

While the civic body is in possession of these robotic machines, the source said manual scavenging was reported near Sanganoor Road and Saibaba Colony last week. "|The manual scavengers are not provided with any basic safety gear."

A sanitary worker, who didn't want to be identified, said they would be relieved if bandicoots were deployed for cleaning manholes. "Even if safety gears like gloves and shoes are given to us, they easily get damaged. We cannot ask for additional safety gears. So, most of us get to work without any safety gear."

A Dennis, an activist, said corporation contractors were employing manual scavengers to save costs. "Manual scavengers are hardly paid Rs500-Rs600 per day. They are also unaware of their rights and laws.'' According to him, not all sanitary workers are willing do this job. "Only a select few are deployed for this purpose across the city."

When contacted, a senior corporation official said they would press the bandicoots intro service soon. The official said the previous firm that was tasked with the job of the maintenance and operation of the machines had sought extra funds, stating the same was an expensive job. "Now that the tender with that firm has expired, we have floated a new tender. We will get a new bidder to put the bandicoots to use," he said.