Pune: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has issued a tender worth ₹60 crore for the mechanized cleaning (road sweeper) of nine major roads in the city.

Previously, roads in the city were cleaned using this method for five years, but residents experienced more dust than cleanliness due to the poor quality of work.

The corporation has been cleaning city roads through manual labor. However, since 2017, except for the Peth area, major roads in the other four zones have been cleaned using sweepers.

With the previous tender's five-year term ending, the Solid Waste Management Department has issued a new tender for the next five years for zones one, three, and four. The tender has been extended as only one contractor submitted a bid in the initial round.

Expected Standards for Sweeper Operations:

• Cleaning roads with machines from 10 PM to 6 AM.

• Sweepers have a 2,000-liter water tank.

• The vehicle is equipped with rotating brooms at the bottom.

• Spraying water and sweeping both sides of the road, including dividers and pedestrian paths, to prevent dust.

• Collecting leaves, bottles, stones, sand, and soil into the sweeper.

Current Situation:

• Vehicles are supposed to sweep along the divider and then the pedestrian path.

• However, vehicles often speed without adequate water spraying, causing dust and incomplete cleaning.

• Significant debris remains stuck to the sides of dividers and pedestrian paths.

• No effort is made to remove leftover debris.

• No municipal employees or officers are present during sweeper operations.

Inclusions in the New Tender:

• The new tender for zones one, three, and four includes cleaning dividers with jetting machines due to dirt and stains from spitting and soil.

• Jetting machines will be used for daily cleaning, and dumpers will be mandatory with each sweeper machine for collecting debris.

Daily Cleaning Targets:

• The tender includes nine roads, each 10 kilometers long.

• Each sweeper must clean 40 kilometers of roads in one night, covering both sides of the dividers and pedestrian paths four times.

List of Roads (Amount):

Zone One (₹20.80 crore)

• Alandi Road

• Nagar Road to Mundhwa Bridge, Viman Nagar

• Gunjan Talkies to Airport

Zone Three (₹20.80 crore)

• Sarasbaug to Nanded City Gate

• Katraj Chowk to Swargate

• Khandujibaba Temple to Warje Bridge

Zone Four (₹20.80 crore)

• Nobel Hospital to Magarpatta, Passport Office

• Nobel Hospital to Shewalwadi

• Nobel Hospital to Sanvidhan Chowk, Wanawadi