Achi news desk-
Mumbai News: As hi-tech sensors fail to curb sewage thefts, BMC rushes to install caps before monsoon | Representative photo
Mumbai: After a technical failure of a smart device project to prevent the theft of sewerage charges in the city, the civic authorities have now directed the department officials to ensure that the cesspits are covered before the monsoon. The open cesspits will be blocked immediately until they are covered, the civic official said.
According to civil data, an average of 63 sewer covers were stolen in the last year. Since the manhole covers are often stolen, the authorities have decided to install protective nets to prevent mishaps such as citizens, animals or vehicles from falling into open manholes, especially during the monsoon. Also, an experiment was conducted to install protective nets made of stainless steel, fibers and ductile iron under the sewer pits.
Also, the civic body carried out a pilot to install a smart device under the sewer cover in 14 locations in the city. The sensors in the device were supposed to trigger an alarm and send alerts to the sewer operation control room when the caps were forcibly removed or in the event of water absorption. The staff would immediately rush to the scene to prevent theft.
Sensors fail to raise alarms
However, the sensors could not trigger alarms in some places when the covers were moved. Also, in some places alerts were sent to the wrong control room. Hence, defeats the purpose of installing the sensors, said an official of the Sewerage Operations Department. A senior civilian official said that “the process of installing covers on sewer pits was carried out at the departmental levels. A date was set for covering all open sewers until May 31st. After that, the assistant commissioners and officials of the sewer department will be in all departments. Submit reports on their departments.”
