Minimal effort was given to finding a solution for this demeaning problem for several decades and no lessons were learnt from other countries in this aspect. In France giant balls smaller than sewerage lines are pushed using water at high pressure to unclog the sewers (see Fig.2). Very few solutions have been found in India. Some of the technologies that are available in the Indian market for sewer system cleaning are jetting trucks, sewer jetting and flushing machines, gas detector masks, and sewer cleaning robots (see Fig. 3-5)
Fig. 2: Photograph of giant ball for sewerage lines
http://theballreport.com/the-sewers-of-paris-are-cleaned-by-giant-balls/
Fig.3: Photograph of a sewer cleaning machine
Fig.4: Photograph of a sewer jetting machine
Fig.5: Photograph of a Mini sewer jetting machine
Apart from equipping the workers with technology safety training is also critical and all employees associated with the job must undergo it. Written instructions and procedures need to be provided to the workers and continuous supervision during the job must be done. To operate the equipment, the workers present at the site need to be familiarized with how to operate. In addition to that, workshops will need to be conducted at least once every two years to update them on the improved methods and techniques. Manual scavengers need training to use the dedicated technologies available in the Indian market, thus enabling them to work with dignity.
By Linda Jasline,
Project Manager, Solinas
Solinas 