BMC to buy more mechanical brooms

Mumbai: The Civil Body will spend about `5 crore for the purchase and maintenance of these mechanical brooms.  Since the mechanical brooms purchased earlier are no longer in use, the Civil Body decided to purchase more mechanical brooms for the city.  The Civil Body will spend `5 crore for the purchase and maintenance of these mechanical brooms. 

Civic officials said the purpose behind using these brooms was to keep busy roads clean 24 hours a day.  Conservative workers opposed the move, believing that buying more mechanical brooms would make many people unemployed.  Workers in the solid waste department opposed the municipal organization's decision to use mechanical brooms to clean the city.  “Contract workers lost their jobs a few years ago to new mechanical brooms, and more jobs could be eliminated,” said one of the conservancy workers.

Each mechanical broom travels at least 28 km per day.  In addition, he will work eight hours in two shifts.  In addition to purchasing these mechanical brooms, tenders were invited for year-round circulation and maintenance of the brooms.  The price of each mechanical broom for maintenance and operation is Rs.  2.43 lakh per month.  1.45 crore.  This would increase the cost to Rs 4.85 crore including all taxes. 

These mechanical broom vehicles will be stored and then handed over to the Solid Waste Management Department.  The waste collected by these vehicles will be carried to the landfill by vehicles carrying radar poles.  Vehicles in both shifts will work four hours per shift.  These mechanical broom vehicles travel at a speed of 6 kilometres per hour.  

At this speed, it can travel 28 kilometres per day, which is 840 kilometres per month,”said a senior BMC official. A few years ago, the Mumbai Civil Body bought a similar mechanical broom.  "I do not think these machines are being used. This machine was supposed to be used to clean the roads in the Bandra-Kurla complex and on the East-West Express Highway. However, the civic body is buying more machines," said a conservancy worker about the state of anonymity.