Kerala to use robots to clean sewers, end manual-scavenging
Thiruvananthapuram: Robots will soon replace men in cleaning up sewer holes in Kerala, ending the age-old practice of manual scavenging in the southern state.
'Bandicoot', the robot developed by the start-up firm Genrobotics, will be used for cleaning sewer holes.
The Kerala Water Authority (KWA) and Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) today signed an MoU for transfer of technology and products, including use of the robots for the purpose.
The MoU was signed between Kerala Water Innovation Zone under KWA and KSUM at the Chief Minister's office here, a statement said here.
'Bandicoot' will start its work, so far mostly done manually, by cleaning sewer holes in the city during the coming famed Attukal Pongala festival in Thiruvananthapuram in March, it said.
The robot has four limbs and a bucket system attached to a spider web looking extension, which can go inside the manhole.
After shoveling the heap of garbage at the bottom of the manhole, it will be collected by using the bucket system before lifting it upward.
It also has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules, it said.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Minister for Water Resources Mathew T Thomas, IT Secretary M Sivasankar, KSUM CEO Saji Gopinath, Additional Chief Secretary, Water Resources,Tom Jose, KWA officials and eight representatives from Genrobotics were present on the occasion.
KSUM had funded for the project by Genrobotics, which conducted a field study to find a solution for manual scavenging.
Meanwhile, KWA is also conducting research on the issue following the Chief Minister's instruction to find a remedy for it.
Genrobotics is planning to market the product within six months.
It has already got enquiries from states like Tamil Nadu to take it to the national-level.
Founded in 2015, GenRobotics specialises in powered exoskeletons and human controlled robotic systems.
The robot is powered by pneumatics (using gas or pressurised air) since using heavy electronic equipment inside is risky as they can react with the explosive gases present in the manhole.
The KSUM is a nodal agency of the Kerala Government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state.
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Kuldeep, Vipraj spin masterclass helps DC restrict RCB to 163/7
Bengaluru, Apr 10 (PTI): The wizardry of spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Vipraj Nigam helped Delhi Capitals stage a stirring comeback to restrict Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a below-par 163 for seven in the IPL match here on Thursday.
Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep (2/17) and leg-spinner Nigam (2/18) adjusted their lengths beautifully on a pitch that had a touch of sluggishness to drag RCB innings into a marshy pit after the Capitals chose to bowl first.
But Delhi's decision to field looked utterly obtuse as Royal Challengers went off the blocks like a galloping horse, going past the 50-run mark in just three overs.
Central to that charge was opener Phil Salt's turbo-charged innings of 37 off 17 balls.
The England batter hammered Mitchell Starc for a sequence of 6, 4, 4, 4, 6 to collect 24 runs in the third over.
However, Salt got run out in a yes-no situation involving Virat Kohli (22, 14b). Kohli and Salt added 61 runs off 24 balls for the opening stand.
But the introduction of leg-spinner Vipraj Nigam proved a course-altering point.
Nigam gave away just two runs in the fifth over, and pacer Mohit Sharma followed that up with another tidy few balls in the next over.
Pressurised by a series of dot balls, Devdutt Padikkal (1) went for a release shot off Mohit, but it lacked any kinetic energy as Axar Patel completed an easy catch at the edge of the circle.
Kohli, who began to unshackle himself with a six off Nigam over long-on, soon fell to the same bowler while trying to clobber a delivery wide on the off-stump.
Thereafter, the home side lost the wickets of Jitesh Sharma (4) and Liam Livingstone (3) in quick succession as they slipped to 102 for five in the 13th over, a far cry from the start they had.
In fact, the hosts lost five wickets for a mere 41 runs in just over eight overs, as DC bowlers exploited a hint grip on the surface to telling effect.
The passage between overs 6th and 13th also saw RCB batters managing just two fours and a six.
However, The RCB camp might have harboured some hopes of reaching a much more competitive total through skipper Rajat Patidar, who played a couple of delectable shots.
But Kuldeep’s skidder ended Patidar's stay (25) as stumper KL Rahul safely held the ball which almost touched the moon and came back.
Tim David (37 not out, 20b) played a few customary beefy shots in the death overs but it came a wee bit late as RCB's innings ended on a sad note of what could have been.
