Benglauru: A month after 25 mechanical sweeping machines stopped working, Bengalueans have begun complaining about increasing dust in the air and silt on the roadside.
While the contract to operate the machines, including 17 self-propelled and 8 truck-mounted ones, ended on Feb 28, immediate replacement appears nowhere in sight. In fact, the mechanical sweepers have failed a fitness test and signing fresh contracts to operate them appears unlikely in the immediate future.
The machines were removing dust and waste from 1,040km of roads.
Prahalad BS, chief engineer (roads), BBMP, said, “We first wanted to check if we can reuse the existing machines before investing in new ones. However, the results showed we can’t reuse them, so we need to proceed with buying new ones. We have a buy-back policy in our contract. We will be giving the machines back.”
The machines have been lying idle outside BBMP zonal offices for over a month, and the city is struggling to keep its roads clean. Dust and silt continue to accumulate, exacerbating Bengaluru’s pollution crisis and making life difficult for motorists and pedestrians.
BBMP, however, has no concrete plan on how to resume mechanical sweeping. “We are considering different options on how to proceed with the machines, and no plan has been finalised yet. This time we want more machines to cover all the roads every day and are working out the best price,” Prahalad said.
While the Palike insists that discussions are ongoing, citizens are demanding urgent intervention to ensure roads are cleaned before the situation spirals out of control. The previous contractor told TOI, “The contract has a buy-back policy and the first preference goes to the manufacturer. If they don’t want to buy, then BBMP can sell the machines. However, we have not received any information about new tenders. We want an update soon because if prolonged, it will be a burden for us to get workers on board. If tenders are called soon, we can go ahead with the old staff only.”
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We have been receiving a lot of complaints from road users about accumulation of silt on roadsides. That sweeping is not happening on major roads is clearly visible. If no cleaning happens, there could be severe waterlogging when it rains. How could BBMP not have any plan when the tender got over?
— Clement Jayraj from Mahadevpura Task Force