Robots to clear Shimla roads of snow

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune news Service

Shimla, December 29

Winters in Shimla will now be less harsh as the Shimla Municipal Corporation, the district administration and the Public Works Department (PWD) are embarking on innovative plans to keep roads open for traffic during snowfall.

The PWD has purchased robots with snow blades and blowers attachments for the district. Asnow blower is a machine designed to pick up snow from the ground and throw it to the side. It is used for clearing snow from paved and unpaved surfaces such as driveways, sidewalks, and pathways.

Three robots, one with snow blade and two with blowers, costing about Rs 42 lakh each, have been purchased, said Executive Engineer Amit.

The State Disaster Management Authority had also sanctioned Rs 5 crore for buying bigger snow blowers. About 10-15 vulnerable stretches had been identified and snow blowers would be used to clear snow, said Aditya Negi, DC.

Sprinkling of calcium chloride before snowfall to stop the formation of ice sheets on the identified stretches, where snow remains frozen for a long period, making roads slippery and driving hazardous, would also be tested by the MC.

The use of calcium chloride on the Kufri-Fagu stretch was successful last year and they will spray the chemical on the IGMC stretch and if it works, it could be replicated in other stretches also, said Commissioner, Shimla MC, Ashish Kohli. However, the accurate prediction by the Meteorological Department would be crucial for the experiment as it would be sprayed ahead of snowfall, he said.

The traditional measures like sand and salt stocks and machinery were already in place on vulnerable stretches at Khirki in Chopal, Kharapathar in Rohru, Narkanda, the Kufri-Fagu stretch, the Hiranagar-Totu stretch, the Dhalli-Sanjauli bypass, Shimla Bypass, Navbahar to Chhota Shimla, Victory Tunnel to the Rivoli stretch, he added.