Hyderabad: Tons of festival waste will be removed from Hussainsagar in less than a day once the HMDA’s Rs 2.5-crore Amphibious Hydraulic Excavator (AHE) arrives.
The Malaysian-made machine, with a boom length of over 15 metres, can remove idols after a few hours of immersion. Never has any idol been removed from the bund area owing to its depth, but the machine will remove all PoP structures at the bund area too.
Another Rs 3.5 crore has been invested on an Aquatic Weed Harvester cum Trash Remover (AWHTR). In minutes, hyacinth and solid waste will be removed from the lake. The machine has a cutter that removes the hyacinth from the roots.
In all, Rs 5.5 crore has been spent on cleaning Hussainsagar, aside from the crores spent on the diversion of the Kukatpally nala.
According to HMDA officials, the machine will arrive in April. “The AHE will help in desilting, maintenance and cleaning of stagnant water and help in removing idols immersed during festive seasons. The new machinery not only quickly removes floating material and chop, cut and collect vegetation, it also loads the waste on trucks waiting on the shore. This helps in quick disposal,” said an HMDA official.
Besides Hussainsagar lake, the machinery can also be easily shifted to other water bodies of the city for cleaning work.
