:Siddhartha Bhattacharya, Minister of Guwahati Development Department inaugurated Guwahati’s first manhole cleaning robot named “BANDICOOT”, an automatic sewer cleaning device.

Analysis

• Guwahati became the first city in the Northeast region to get a manhole cleaning robot.

About BANDICOOT

•  BANDICOOT was developed by Genrobotics, an Indian startup company under the Make in India initiative.
•  The funding for the development of BANDICOOT was provided by the Indian Oil Corporation Limited(IOCL) under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative.
•  The robot supports easy removal of sludge from the underground drain and will help the elimination of manual scavenging.
•  The Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) procured the BANDICOOT along with 6 Skid Steer Loaders (Mini loaders) from JCB.
•  After Gurugram and Coimbatore, Guwahati is the third city to acquire the technology to clean manhole.