Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on 4 June 2015 inaugurated six mechanical road sweepers on Kalibari Marg, Delhi to effectively control air pollution and keep the city clean.

The mechanical sweeping machines are the initiative of the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC). These are aimed at effectively cleaning the roads of the city and reduce the exposure of dust and dirt particles to manual sweepers.

Currently, the NDMC has deployed four road sweepers for major and colony roads stretching across 10920 km and two road sweepers for lanes and cross-colony roads of 3900 km.

The machines’ speed is 5-10 km per hour and can cover 30 km a day. The machines will mostly operate in night shifts.

The machines are equipped with water sprinklers which effectively remove the soil and dirt from the roads, ensuring that the minute particulate matter do not spread in the air.

As the level of pollution is high in the city, the introduction of mechanised sweepers is being looked upon as a big step to reduce the level of dust in Delhi.

If the project turns out to be success in NDMC area, then the Delhi government may introduce mechanical road sweepers in the PWD roads, which is a stretch of 1260 km.