Technology Will Help Delhi To Eradicate Manual Scavenging

Rajendra Pal Gautam, the Minister of Delhi Social Welfare, after his declaration to put the fatal incidents caused by the cleaning of septic tanks to an end, will come to Kerala with the aim of finding technological solutions that will eliminate injured situations sprung from sewer cleaning.

The Minister, in an interview with IANS, stated that despite the government introduction of sewer cleaning machine, there are still some limitations that come along with this machine and as a result, they are finding new technologies.

According to Gautam:

He continued:

On Thursday, Gautam will be coming to Kerala in order to see a live performance conducted by Bandicoot, a robot developed by Kerala-based Genrobotics startup, which has been authorized by municipal offices in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.

Gautam stated:

As Bandicoot is a semi-automatic robot, requiring a human operator to stay close to the manhole to run the robot with a computer.

As claimed by the Minister:

Similar to PCR (police control room) van service, Bandicoot will be applied in people’s daily life.

With this robot, the stress of both cleaners and those finding everywhere for a tank cleaner will be reduced.

The Minister also mentioned a strict rule that will come into effect with the aim of keeping a nominal charge for the use of the robot and everyone being able to access the machine. He continued:

The similar technology is being used by the Delhi Jal Board for the cleaning of sewers; however, the size of the machine is quite large.

The government has tried their best to make the machine smaller, but its size still doesn't fit with septic tanks. As a result, there is a requirement for new technology.

The appearance of this robot will make Delhi the first city in India to be able to eliminate manual scavenging activities.

Discussing the difficult situation that cleaning community is experiencing, the Minister brought up the monetary compensation and job guarantee for the family that has a person, whose profession is not a cleaner, dies while performing their duty. However, when it’s the cleaner who dies on duty, there will be no similar compensation for their family in the Indian system.

The implementation of the MS Act (Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act) in India has taken place since 2013; however, the rehabilitation part has never been mentioned. The rehabilitation process does include the training to use tech for the cleaners.

According to the Act:

In order to ensure the dignity and safety of the scavengers, in February, Delhi government announced to be the first city in India that applies the use of sewer cleaning machines for narrow lanes around the city with the introduction of two hundred machines.

The Minister said:

When Gautam was asked whether two hundred machines would be enough for the whole city, he affirmed that this amount is sufficient for 272 wards in Delhi.