MCD gets new equipment for desilting drains

New Delhi, Dec 31 (UNI) The Muncipal Corporation of Delhi will take every step to keep the drains of the Capital clean throughout the year with the help of newly-brought machinery worth over 50 crores, MCD Mayor Arti Mehra said today.

Innaugurating the machinery, Ms Mehra told newspersons at a press conference here, in addition to the corporation's initiative to keep the drains clean, we have also decided to buy the machinery from the government to overcome the problem of contractors.'' The annual maintainance would also be given to the government, she added. The machinery was bought from a Government undertaking Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML) and a six-year maintainance contract had been handed over to them.

''We will go ahead with the management of solid waste dumping sites and landfill sites at Bhalaswa, Ghazipur and Okhla,'' she said, adding ''We have bought 17 new heavy earth movers worth Rs 10 crores for management of the landfill sites.

The MCD would desilt the drains along the roads maintained by the MCD and the CPWD. ''But, it will not clean the drains which are under the control of the NDMC or the Delhi Cantonment Board, Ms Mehra said.

Mr Subash Arya, Leader of Opposition in the MCD, said earlier the job of desilting the drains was handed over to contractors, which was carried out once a year before the monsoon. ''However, we will now go to the root cause and get the drains cleaned from the bottom.'' ''This year the desilting will be carried out throughout the year with the help of modern automatic machinery till the bottom of drains so that the water flows smoothly during rains,'' Mr Arya said.

Ms Arya said: ''We are trying to generate electricity from the solid waste and have plans to develop the sanitary landfill site at Jaitpur near Badarpur to absorb 1000 metric tonnes of garbage generated everyday.

UNI