|
May 4: Dispur has given the green signal to procure an amphibian dredger to clean up the waterbodies of the city.
“GMDA has issued a tender to get the equipment,” the chief executive officer of Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority, M. Angamuthu, told The Telegraph today. He said chief minister Tarun Gogoi has taken a personal interest to see the city clean and has given his assent to procure the equipment.
The estimated cost of the machine is Rs 5-Rs 6 crore.
He said amphibian dredgers have been used to clean the Dal lake in Kashmir. “We have placed the quotation today,” he said.
The official said barring the waterbodies, it could also be used to clean up big drains. “The aim is to clean up the Bharalu,” he added.
The dredger will be equipped with a hydraulic self-propulsion system, cutter and pumps. One of the conditions is that the firm should have supplied at least three similar dredgers during the past five years in the country with proof of satisfactory performance from the client.
The firm should have an annual turnover of Rs 5 crore in the past three years.
Officials said because of clogged drains — the result of a huge accumulation of plastics and other materials — there were flash floods in the city after a downpour.
In previous meetings, Gogoi called upon officials to make an effort to keep the city clean at all costs. He said a new act would be formulated under which a penalty will be imposed on those breaching the cleanliness norms.
Under the Clean School, Clean Guwahati project laun-ched recently by Gogoi, the top three “cleanest schools” of the city will be given cash awards — Rs 1 lakh, Rs 75,000 and Rs 50,000 respectively.
| 
