Kochi, Feb 24 (IANS): Kerala's famed temple town of Guruvayoor will now put into service robotic scavenger Bandicoot for cleaning all its sewers.

Guruvayoor, known for its famed Sree Krishna Temple, is located in Thrissur district.

Bandicoot, developed by Kerala-based Genrobotics, is already in use in urban bodies across the country, phasing out the practice of sanitation workers physically entering the manholes to keep them clean.

The leading robotic company recently bagged 'Kerala Pride' award at the Huddle Global 2022 conclave organised by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM).

Kerala Water Resources Minister Roshi Augustine, who inaugurated the deployment of Bandicoot, said the launch of robotic scavenger in Guruvayur Municipality marked a major step towards use of technology-driven solutions for manhole cleaning across the state.

Beginning as a startup, Genrobotics made a big impact by developing the world's first robotic scavenger Bandicoot in an effort to eliminate manual scavenging that would provide huge respite for workers engaged in manhole cleaning.

The robotic Tron Unit, which is the major component of Bandicoot, enters the manhole and removes sewage using robotic hands, similar to a man's.

It has waterproof, HD vision cameras and gas sensors that can identify harmful gases inside the manhole.