First in TN: Kumbakonam gets Bandicoot, a semi-automatic robot to clean manholes

After successfully reclaiming a dump yard through biomining, the Kumbakonam municipality has set another benchmark for civic bodies by introducing Bandicoot, a semi-automatic robot that could enter manholes and clean underground drainage (UGD) chambers.

The robot would eliminate the need for sanitary workers to enter manholes for cleaning the sewage lines. Bandicoot is equipped with five night vision cameras to relay the scenario inside a sewage line. It had a robotic arm to clear the blockades.

According to the Kumbakonam municipality, as much as 70% of the temple town comprising 45 wards was covered under the underground drainage system. With as many as 19,500 UGD connections, the municipality thus had been relying on silt removing vehicles to clear the blockades in sewage lines.

Though manual scavenging has not been practised in Kumbakonam, the move to introduce Bandicoot is meant to rule out any chance of sanitary workers entering manholes.

“The semi-automatic robot was procured for the first time in Tamil Nadu. It is procured with the financial support of Indian Oil Corporation’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative. As we are in the process of covering entire town under UGD, Bandicoot will help us remove sewage blocks safely in a short time,” said Kumbakonam municipal commissioner K Uma Maheshwari.