Mira Bhayandar: MBMC to clean roads with battery-run litter gobblers

Instead of relying only on the age-old manual broom-and-sweep method, the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) is now planning to implement advanced technology for day-to-day cleanliness in an automated way.

For this, the civic administration has come up with an eco-friendly idea of deploying battery-operated “gobbler” machines to ensure a high standard of cleanliness while keeping pollution in check. The proposal to purchase 12 gobbler machines (two each for six wards) has found a place on the agenda of the general body meeting scheduled to be held on 3, August.

After an official nod, e-tenders will be floated for procurement. Budgetary allocations amounting to Rs. 2.4 crore has already been set aside for the purpose in the current fiscal. According to civic officials, the battery-operated machines which are basically bigger versions of vacuum cleaners are equipped with powerful suction pumps which enable them to collect any type of garbage in large quantities and deposit it in an in-built waste-collection tank.

“Manual sweeping causes dust to blow, which leads to inconvenience for passers-by and sanitation workers. The eco-friendly battery-operated gobbler machines will ensure a high standard of cleanliness while significantly bringing down pollution caused by manual sweeping. It’s our pilot project which will be implemented after a final nod from the general body,” said municipal commissioner-Dilip Dhole. "The machine will be initially used at crowded places like- arterial roads, markets, beaches, and parks and based on its performance, a decision on increasing its coverage by adding trolley-mounted and backpack vacuum litter picker machines will be taken," said an official attached to the sanitation department.