Minister flags off 5 mechanised road-cleaning machines

Five small mechanised road-cleaning machines, purchased at a cost of ₹1.98 crore, were launched for use by the Coimbatore Corporation on Friday.
Minister for Backward Classes Welfare V. Sampath Kumar flagged off the machines at the Corporation’s R.S. Puram auditorium.
Each machine costs ₹39.60 lakh and can clean up to 40 km of roads in eight hours at a speed of 5 km an hour. They are designed to clean major roads, flyovers and narrow stretches with central dividers, and are equipped with a hydraulic mechanism to lift and discharge the waste collected.
The Minister also distributed prizes to the Corporation’s five zones for their performance in a 12-day dengue prevention and cleanliness drive conducted from October 23 to November 4. The zones collectively removed 28,78,563 potential mosquito-breeding sources.
Mr. Sampath Kumar also distributed uniform sets to 10 permanent conservancy workers as a symbolic launch of the Corporation’s initiative to provide uniforms to 1,822 permanent workers, including 1,168 men and 654 women, at a total cost of ₹76.20 lakh. The sets comprise shirts and trousers or sarees and blouses, caps, shoes, socks and raincoats.
Earlier, the Minister inaugurated an artificial-turf box cricket ground established at the Nehru Stadium at a cost of ₹46.69 lakh.
Speaking to reporters, Mr. Sampath Kumar said that appropriate action would be taken on the controversy surrounding the books at Periyar Arivulagam after ascertaining the facts.
District Collector Pavankumar G. Giriyappanavar, Sulur MLA N.M. Sukumar, Corporation Commissioner Katta Ravi Teja, and other officials participated in the events.