BMC gets two robots to clean manholes

Robot Bandicoot at M West ward on Thursday. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is gradually moving to robotic machines to clean manholes, a step towards eliminating manual scavenging.

On Wednesday, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) gave the civic body two such machines for M-West ward (Chembur) under the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme. After a successful pilot run on BPCL premises, the machines were handed over to Assistant Municipal Commissioner of M-West ward Prithviraj Chavan.

The robots have three cameras each, infra-red devices and ability to detect gases inside manholes. They can reach 8 metres deep.