09-05-2025
Robots soon to dig out faults in Belagavi drainage system
If all goes well, robots will soon be detecting faults in the underground drainage system in Belagavi and repairing them.
Mayor Mangesh Pawar, Deputy Mayor Vani Vilas Joshi and senior Belagavi City Corporation officers witnessed a demonstration of the robots here on Friday.
Mr. Pawar said that he is happy with the demonstration. 'A final decision on procuring the machine systems will be taken after discussing it with officers and corporation members,' he said.
Ms Joshi maintained that a decision will be taken based on necessity and performance results.
The demonstration took place near Hanuman Nagar.
City Corporation ruling party leader Hanumant Kongali, Deputy Commissioner in the corporation Laxmi Nippanikar and others were present.
Technical experts from the company described the machine's functionality, efficiency and technological features in detail. They said that the city corporation of Sangli in neighbouring Maharashtra has employed them already.
They said that the robots enter the underground drainage lines and accurately detect problems like blockages, leakages and water contamination using cameras and sensors. They provide live visuals from inside the pipeline.
'They have the skills to detect issues even before the pipes are damaged,' a representative of Solinas Integrity Systems M.R. Patil said.
This machine costs ₹27 lakh. The company has agreed to offer a one-month free training. Additionally, for ₹5.5 crore, the company will handle operations and maintenance for three years under a service contract, the Mayor said.
He clarified that the project will not replace civic workers.
The intelligent machines, the Solinas Integrity Systems and Endobot Sewer Bots, have been launched by Swasth AI, a start-up incubated by IIT Madras.
These bots and the machine learning system help urban local body officials to check for leaks in sewer, water pipes and even pollution in water supply.
