The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has just acquired brand new Recycling Machines — apparently to get rid of the tonnes of silt that clog drains across the city every year, leading to water logging when the rains arrive.

Four recycling machines arrived in the city last week

The four machines, each costing R5 crore, have been sent to almost all BMC wards in the city by turn. The machines have the ability to store large quantities of stilt in its pouch, which is then taken to the dumping yards.

Mumbai has over 2000 kilometres of roadside nullahs from where silt needs to be removed.

According to its own records, the BMC spends an average of R90 crore annually, in cleaning nullahs to prevent flooding. The new machines  were used for the first time last week, before monsoon arrived.