As the Kerala government on Friday, 24 February, claimed to be the first state in the country to end manual scavenging and use robotic scavenger Bandicoot to clean manholes, activist Bezwada Wilson explained that the technology alone was insufficient and more innovation was required.
Developed by Kerala-based Genrobotics, the Bandicoot is a robotic scavenger that helps clean confined spaces such as sewers, sewer wells, and stormwater drains.
While launching the machine under the Guruvayur Sewerage Project in Thrissur, Kerala Water Resources Minister, Roshi Augustine said, “With the launch of the project in Guruvayur, manual scavenging in Kerala has ended. Now Kerala has become the first state in the country to use robotic scavengers to clean manholes.”
The project was initiated by the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) as part of a 100-day action plan of the state government.
Meanwhile, Wilson welcomed the move but cautioned the state government to not go into celebration mode yet.
“Bandicoot can only clean manholes and not dry latrines, in which several manual scavengers are engaged daily,” Wilson, the national convenor of the Delhi-based Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA), told South First.
A look at Bandicoot
Claimed as the world’s first robotic scavenger, Bandicoot was developed by four Kerala engineers to eliminate manual scavenging.
Its robotic TRON unit, a major component of Bandicoot, enters the manhole and removes sewage using robotic hands akin to human limbs.
It is claimed that the machine is waterproof, and has HD vision cameras and sensors that can detect harmful gases inside the manholes.
Bandicoot recently bagged the 2022 “Kerala Pride” award at the Huddle Global 2022 conclave organised by Kerala Start-Up Mission (KSUM).
In January, the robot machine was also showcased at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
Thank you, KSUM, for organising such a wonderful meeting with Kerala's Hon'ble Minister for Finance, Shri KN Balagopal. It was an honour to introduce G Gaiter, our Advanced Robotic Gait Rehabilitator for paraplegic patients, and Bandicoot, the World's First Robotic Scanvenger. pic.twitter.com/OCAmjBWleX
— Genrobotic Innovations (@GenRobotic) July 26, 2022
As per the Kerala government, the Bandicoot robots are currently deployed in a few towns across 17 states in India and three Union Territories.
In 2018, the KWA started using Bandicoots to clean manholes in Thiruvananthapuram. It was subsequently introduced in the Ernakulam district as well.
Read more: Announcement to end manual scavenging a mere slogan: Activist
More innovation required
While noting that Kerala was the first state in the country to use robotic technology to clean all its commissioned manholes, Augustine said: “With the deployment of the Bandicoot in Guruvayur, all the commissioned manholes have been transformed using a robotic revolution. A special team of KWA officials will be constituted for the operation of robotic cleaning in Guruvayur.”
He added, “The modernisation of the sewerage system will help contain the spread of epidemics and serious health challenges caused by them.”
While noting that Kerala was the only state where the government was implementing this mechanism, Wilson noted, “The Kerala government is doing at least something, while other states are not doing anything. But that machine is not sufficient. Even after that, sewage and septic-tank deaths are happening.”
Wilson said more technical innovation was required along with Bandicoot. “It is not a 360-degree solution to eradicate manual scavenging. There is so much more to develop as Bandicoot can not clean dry latrines.”
