Bengaluru: Bengaluru’s civic authorities are testing robotic drain cleaning in HSR Layout, using a remote-controlled machine to remove silt from covered stormwater drains. After inspecting the demonstration on Friday, Greater Bengaluru Authority Chief Commissioner Maheshwar Rao told officials to use the machine for drain cleaning if the trial delivers satisfactory results.
Officials said a crew spent about six hours on Thursday clearing a stretch of drain roughly 6 feet wide and 30 feet long, where more than 2 feet of silt had accumulated. Rao asked officials to identify and clear stretches that need desilting in and around 17th Cross in HSR Layout’s 7th Sector to reduce the risk of flooding.
How robotic drain cleaning works
The machine, made by Aryan, can clean up to about 30 metres inside a covered drain, according to the civic authority. A crew lowers the unit into the drain and operates it by wireless remote. The machine loosens the silt and draws it out through a vacuum pipe. It can store up to 6,000 litres of sludge and 2,000 litres of water separately.
Rao directed officials to follow safety measures for workers operating alongside the machine. Local MLA Satish Reddy, Bengaluru South City Corporation Commissioner K.N. Ramesh and chief engineers Basavaraj Kabade and Malathi attended the inspection.
Pipe drain proposed for the Silk Board route
In a separate instruction aimed at easing monsoon waterlogging between Silk Board Junction and HSR Layout, Rao asked officials to use a pipe 3 metres in diameter instead of a box drain in the proposed stormwater drain project.
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