Heavy Equipment Dredger Cost 2.6 Cr Will Clean Gomti River

The government is all set to finish its ambitious Gomti Riverfront project before its Dec. 2016 deadline. It will help it expedite the work would be the four new giant dredgers (heavy equipment for cleaning river) bought recently by the irrigation department. The dredgers are unique in that they can work both on land and water and can excavate deep seated sludge and solid waste.

Irrigation department claims such machinery has never been used in the river before and will cleanse it crystal clear. Engineer-in-charge said, “The benefit of this dredger is that despite being heavy machinery, it floats as soon as it lands on water and cleans the surface through. When on land, it cleanses the bed and banks with equal ease.”

By January 2016, a specialized dredger would be imported from America too. This dredger sieves liquid sludge deposited on riverbed apart from the solid waste and polythene bags. The four dredgers have been currently placed on Gomti’s banks near Gandhi Setu. Officials said the dredgers have been bought from Mumbai at the cost of Rs 2.6 crore each. The company will be assembling and calibrating them in the next few days before they start working. After cleaning the river bed, the dredgers would be used to clean the banks.