City to buy five modern road cleaning machines

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Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) is all set to purchase five state-of-the-art broomer machines that would make the process of cleaning the city efficient.

KMC Spokesperson Gyanendra Karki on Tuesday said the KMC has allocated Rs 120 million for these cleaning machines that would arrive in here in three months. He did not divulge the name of the company when the Post enquired.

Unveiling the 30-point immediate action plan for the KMC in April last year, Mayor Bidhya Sundar Shakya had announced to buy 10 broomer machines to clean the dusty roads in Kathmandu. The ministry of finance had approved Rs 90 million for the purchase of these cleaning machines. “We could not purchase the machines last year because, we did not find appropriate bidder. The KMC again put out a tender on April 5. “We received seven bids and we have now found an appropriate one,” said Karki. A bidding evaluation subcommittee was set up with KMC Environment Department Chief Rabin Man Shrestha as chairman to whet bidders.

KMC staff collects around 600 tonnes of dust and waste material from Sundhara, Ratnapark, Lainchwor, Purano Bus Park, Putalisadak, Tri-Chandra College and other parts of the city.The ongoing road expansion and Melamchi pipeline installation and other infrastructure project throw up a lot of dust. This dust along with vehicular exhaust emissions adds to the city’s pollution levels. If the city administration shows its intent efficiently to accomplish civic tasks, it can indeed succeed as it did during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit on May 12. To welcome him and his delegation, the KMC had cleaned major VIP roads.

The Post asked KMC’s Chief Administrative Officer Yadav Prasad Koirala, ‘Why does the metropolis clean and spruce up the city only when foreign dignitaries visit?’ he replied, “We do not have broomers, once we buy them, roads would be cleaner.”

The metropolis had borrowed three broomers from Department of Roads to clean during Modi’s visit. At present, the metropolis deploys 400 cleaners. However, they still cannot keep the city dust free. “The main reason is most city by-lanes are dirt roads and not asphalt. Dust pollution would significantly reduce once all roads are topped with asphalt,” said Koirala. The metropolis has only one broomer machine. It was purchased for the 18th South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (Saarc) Summit hosted by Kathmandu on November 26 and 27, 2014.