The firm engaged by the Centre to clean the 22km stretch of the Ganga flowing past the 14 major ghats of Patna wants to buy a second trash skimmer machine to remove filth from the river.

The Delhi-based Cleantec Infra Pvt Ltd - engaged under the Namami Gange project of the Centre's National Mission for Clean Ganga - right now has a single such machine. The machine has been imported from the United States and can collect 13 cubic metres of trash at a go, is loaded four times a day and travels 20-25km along the river daily, sources said.

It was a challenge to carry out the job with one machine, a Cleantec official said under cover of anonymity. "With the existing one machine, we can carry out operations only along half of the total earmarked stretch. This is why another trash skimmer machine is being seriously considered," he said.

The Namami Gange project allows the use of two trash skimmer machines, the official added. "It won't be a problem if another machine is put into service," he said.

Cleantec dumps the collected trash at a designated place near Gai Ghat and the Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC), which has to dispose of it, dumps the trash at Ramchak Bairiya.

The private firm commenced work on January 2 at Gai Ghat.

"Till February 24, we have removed around 700 tonnes of waste from the Ganga," the Cleantec official said. "The machine collects 10-12 tonnes of waste daily. The waste collected includes plastic bags, flowers, bottles, cans, clothing and items leftover from household pujas. We have also engaged 10 sanitation workers to collect additional waste from the riverbank so that the entire area can be litter free."

According to thet contract, the private firm will continue collecting trash till January 2020 and the estimated cost of the project is around Rs 6.5 crore.