30 suckers to declog drains

30 suckers to declog drains

Using bamboo sticks to clear blockages in sewerage lines will very soon become a thing of the past as the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) will be inducting 30 new jetting machines for that purpose on May 25.

A jetting machine has two tanks of 3,000-litre capacity.

One of the tanks is filled with water and the other will be kept empty. The water in the tank will be pumped at an high speed into the sewerage line that is blocked, so as to clear the blockage.

The other procedure of clearing the blockage is that the drainage water in the blocked sewerage line is sucked into the empty tank.

The sucking speed will be such that the solid particles that block the line will also be sucked in, along with the drainage water. The solid particles are then retained in the tank, but the water is pumped back into the sewerage line.

The jetting machine is also called combination machine as it is used for both sucking and pumping water into the sewerage lines. The machines were manufactured for BWSSB by ‘Kamavida,’ a Pune-based company at a cost of Rs 20.5 lakh per machine.

Each machine will be handled by a trained driver and four sanitary workers.

One of the BWSSB officials said that if things work out as planned, the chief minister will flag off the jetting machines on May 25.

Except during emergencies, the jetting machines will be pressed into service between 8 am and 6 pm daily.

Each machine can handle four to six complaints daily.

“Nearly 50 per cent of the sanitary workers, especially those who worked in the man-holes, used to die even before the expiry of their service periods due to various reasons. With the induction of the jetting machines, such deaths will come down,” the official added.

madhusudhan@epmltd.com