Daily Newsings: 9 May 2025

BBMP considers using bandicoot robots to clean the drains

Daily Newsings are musings on the daily news.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP), the governing authority of Bengaluru is considering using bandicoot robots to clean clogged drains in the city. These are robots that can clean narrow spaces such as drains.

Manual scavenging is an inhumane and deadly practice that has led to the deaths of many people over the years. Manual scavenging is the practice of sending humans into drains, sewers or septic tanks to clean the waste manually. Although it is legally banned in India, it continues to persist.

In cities, it is common to see people getting into the drains by the side of the road and shoveling out the silt and the garbage that clogs up the drains. The solid waste is then collected in small hills next to the drain itself.

Clogged up drains contribute to flooding on the roads since the water cannot drain out. So it is important to clear up the drains especially before the monsoon season begins.

But the necessity of clearing the drains is no excuse to send people in there to do the job. According to the law, machines can be used. Or if the machines are not able to get the job done and a person does need to go in, he needs to wear full protective gear and go in under good supervision. This has largely not been followed. This is primarily due to the shortage of funds for most civic authorities in India.

Let me clarify. The shortage of funds means that the Governments haven't prioritised this over other concerns. And that is a big problem. Are you telling me that the country has been able to send satellites into space and is considering a manned mission into space, and yet does not have the funds to make the cleaning of the drains a more humane job?

This is not to say that space exploration is bad. It just goes on to show the priorities of the Government. Of course, there are no easy answers here since the reasons would go into the structure of fundamentalism in India and how tax money is divided between the different levels of Government and various other such issues. But it is definitely possible for Governments to prioritise the welfare of the people who clean up the drains if they so desire. It will be difficult, but it is possible.

In this context it is a welcome news that the BBMP is considering using these bandicoot robots to clean up the drains. Let us hope that they follow through with the plans and that they continue to allocate sufficient funds over a long period of time to see change... Both in the lives of the people who are employed for such tasks, as well as in having cleaner and less flooded roads in the city.

The news is also a helpful reminder of the power and importance of studying the sciences. When God created humanity, he made them in his image and told them to rule over the earth. Like God, we engage in the tasks of bringing order out of chaos. We are involved in arranging the elements around us to be beautiful and beneficial to people. We study the world to gain mastery over it. And we use this mastery in the service of others. When innovation in the sciences (and in other fields) eventually culminates in the service of other people, we are fulfilling the creation mandate and bringing glory to God. I say eventually to remind ourselves that inventions like this often build on a lot of other studies and works. It is not just the final product, but the entire process that is beautiful. In any case, that’s the story for the day — bandicoot robots.