Tribune News Service Amritsar March 13 With the ban on manual scavenging remaining in force the Municipal Corporation is facing difficulty in cleaning the narrow sewer lines in the walled city. According to information some of the sewer lines are only six-inch-wide in narrow streets in interiors of the city. In February 2020 a sewer man in the Navi Abadi area died while working in a manhole. Then the MC had decided to stop manual scavenging in the city. Mayor Karamjit Singh Rintu said there was a complete ban on manual scavenging in the city and no sewer man was allowed to enter a manhole. Even the MC has written to the Mohalla Sudhar Committees and societies of various localities to not ask anyone to enter manholes otherwise they would be responsible for any untoward incident. After the ban on manual scavenging staff of the MC has been facing inconvenience in the walled city. The MC is regularly getting complaints of choking of sewer lines. Now officials are seeking a mechanical solution to the problem. “All the main sewer lines in the city were de-silted last year. But we need small de-silting machines for narrow streets. We are planning to buy a mini truck or a jeep mounted super sucker machines for the city. Private machines would also be hired for de-silting the sewer lines” said the Mayor. The state government had hired super-suction machines for de-silting all main lines in 2017 and extended the work till 2020. After the ban mechanised solutions would be adopted for the narrow streets too. There are some streets in interior parts of the city which are only four-five feet wide. No machine-mounted vehicle can enter streets which is a biggest challenge for the MC. Ban on manual scavenging creating hurdles In February 2020 the MC had put a ban on manual scavenging in the city after a sewer man in the Navi Abadi area died while working in a manhole. Mayor Karamjit Singh Rintu said there was a complete ban on manual scavenging in the city and no sewer man was allowed to enter a manhole. Staff of the MC has been facing inconvenience in the walled city.

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