KMC starts operating jet machines to clean roads

Kathmandu, September 15

Kathmandu Metropolitan City has started operating five jet machines with engine capacity of 130 horsepower each to clean the clogged drains and keep the metropolis free of waterlogging during rainfall.

The machines of Euro Standard-4 has two separate truck-mounted tanks — 4,000 litres for clean water and 1,000 litre for

wastewater or silt. The two tanks are connected with a pipe which can be lowered into the drain to suck or release water. The machines with 120 metres high pressure pump draws silt from drains and stores it in smaller tanks and releases clean water to wash off the surface of drain.

The use of the machines is expected to cut down on manual cleaning of wastewater drains in the metropolis. Similarly, a spray gun fitted with the machine can be used to wash dust off plants and make the streets free of dust.

Unplanned digging of roads, long delay in repairing roads, haphazard dumping of construction materials, laying of utility pipes of the Melamchi Drinking Water Project, among other things, are responsible for increasing dust pollution in Kathmandu valley. Pedestrians and people living in roadside houses have been hit the worst due to dust pollution.

The machines will also ensure that sanitation staff of the civic body do not have to go down the drains for clean-up.

Speaking at a function organised to inaugurate the operation of machines at Shanti Batikatoday, KMC Mayor BidyaSundarShaya said maximum utilisation of the machines with complete sense of responsibility could make the clean-up campaign sustainable and effective. It also marked the World Clean-up Day.

KMC Deputy Mayor Hari Prabha Khadgi Shrestha stressed on the need to make a small change in working style. “If we broom the streets and pile up collected dust in the outlet of drains, it may make the streets look clean for some time but will clog the drains only to aggravate the situation,” she said. There was also a demo to show how the machines work.