The 100-odd workers employed by the Kerala Water Authority for clearing the clogged sewerage lines in the city can heave a sigh of relief with the sewage wing of KWA procuring suction-cum jetting machines.
The KWA has acquired four jetting, three suction and five bucket machines to clear the blocks in the underground sewerage lines.
Sanctioned under the second phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission programme, the vehicles mounted with high pressure suction-cum-jetting machines were purchased at a total cost of Rs 1.31 crore. The sewage wing presently owns a suction-cum-jetting machine, which had almost become non-operational due to poor maintenance.
The latest procurement includes three jetting machines that could be mounted on small vehicles which would help in cleaning manholes and drains in interior roads. “The absence of small jetting machines was a major handicap in clearing sewerage lines in interior parts. Most of the time, we have to depend on workers for manually clearing the debris from manholes,” said a senior official.
The official said the machinery would be soon deployed to clean the old drainage network that often gets clogged with household waste, garbage and construction debris. Also, storm water drains that get choked during monsoon could be cleared to avoid water logging. The entire cleaning operation would be completed before June, he said.
The procurement of these machines would ensure expeditious and more responsive programmes for clearing the blocks, especially at times of emergency situation arising out of floods, the official added. With the absence of machinery, the KWA had to depend on workers who climb into manholes and clean out the sewerage lines, exposing them to respiratory diseases, skin infections and ulcer. Rights activists have been demanding deployment of machinery to stop manual scavenging, which is banned under the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prevention) Act, 1993.
