The air in Ranchi will soon be free of dust and pollution. Ranchiites can also look forward to some spic and span roads. Hi- tech mechanical sweeping machines are expected to make their debut on city roads in the coming month.
Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) will soon start using mechanical sweeping machines to clean the roads. The machines which arrived in Ranchi on February 13 will be operational once all the administrative and technical formalities are complete.
“A three- member inspection team from IIT Patna inspected the machines on February 24. The delegation is likely to give their report in the next 10 days. Other formalities related to insurance, setting up the control room are also in process and will be completed soon. The routes on which these hi- tech machines will be used will also be finalized shortly. RMC is keen to start the service at the earliest,” said Deputy Municipal Commissioner Shankar Yadav.
RMC has signed an agreement with Delhi based company- Lions Services Limited to operate these vehicles. The civic body will be paying approximately Rs 25 Lakh for the operation and maintenance of the vehicles on a monthly basis.
The machines include two big and one small vehicle. The bigger vehicles have a capacity of about five tonnes each and will be used on broad four lane roads while the smaller one with a capacity of three tonnes will be seen on two lane roads in the City. The equipments come fitted with GPS system and CCTV cameras.
“Cleaning the streets manually not only causes pollution but also disturbs the traffic. These machines will absorb fine dust particles from the roads and also clean in the space between the dividers. It will also remove grease and oil from the surface without damaging the roads,” said an RMC official.
As per the agreement, the vehicles will cover a distance of 121 Kms on a daily basis as a part of the sweeping process. A total of nine corridors or routes- C1 to C9 will be identified by the civic body where the vehicles will be operational.
Sweeping on these marked routes will either be done on a daily basis, alternate days, twice in a week or once in a week depending on the population of the locality.
For monitoring the smooth operations of mechanical sweeping, a control room is also being set up by the civic body. In order to avoid any convenience to the residents, the vehicles will be seen plying the roads of the Capital City from 10 pm to 6 am.
