THANJAVUR
The Thanjavur Corporation on Friday got a robotic scavenging machine, which would enhance its mechanised scavenging operations in the town.
The machine was donated to the Corporation by the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). Handing over the machine to the Corporation at a function held here on Friday, the Executive Director – Asset Manager, ONGC Cauvery Asset, Karaikal, Anurag Sharma, said that the machine was worth ₹48.40 lakh and would help transform the existing conservancy workers as ‘robotic operators’ in order to eradicate manual scavenging effectively.
According to the data available with the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis at least one worker die while cleaning sewage lines or septic tanks every five days in the country since 2017.
The poisonous gas sensing feature available in the machine would help the workers carry out their job without getting affected by the poisonous gas, he said.
Collector A. Annadurai commended the services of ONGC in helping to improve the energy security of the country. “The ONGC is an institution set up with public exchequer for the benefit of the public. Hence, the public need not be prejudiced against it.”
Receiving the machine, Commissioner Janaki Ravindran said that induction of the robotic machine would be of immense help to workers. At present 14 million litres of sewage per day was being generated in the town and was treated at the plant set up on Salakarai Street. The existing 250 kilometre underground sewer network has manholes at 10,059 places and this number to increase by another 1299 manholes with the extension of the UGD network by another 57 km, to be taken up under the Smart City programme.
Later, the machine manufacturer, Genrobotic Innovations Private Limited, Thiruvananthapuram, conducted a field demonstration in the presence of the Collector, the ONGC Cauvery Asset Manager, the Corporation Commissioner, the Hand-in-Hand Inclusive Development and Services, Chennai, which has been entrusted with the maintenance of the UGD network in Thanjavur.
