According to reports, the Government of Meghalaya plans to implement an AI-powered robotic boat to clean the charming Umiam Lake as the plastic waste is piling up. According to an official, the rivers Umkharh and Umshyrpi flows through the state capital, Shillong, transporting substantial amounts of plastic waste daily and depositing it into the lake's southern region, which can only be reached by boats.

Ram Kumar, Health Secretary and nodal officer for the Smart Village Movement, told PTI, “We are impressed by the demonstration given by the ClearBot. They have demonstrated that they can clean the waste most economically.”

He further mentioned that ClearBot, a Hong Kong-based company, demonstrated how the self-deriving boat collects 200 kg of waste in one session for one week.

As per the reports, ClearBot, which was called in for a demonstration, was one of the shortlisted companies by the non-profit Smart Village Movement that operates various projects, in partnership with the state government. The co-founder of ClearBot, Siddhant, mentioned that the Umiam Lake is one of the dirtiest water bodies he has ever witnessed. “It will be a privilege to see our boats clean the mess within a few months, given a chance”, he said. “The boat we brought here is a small one, which can pull out 200-400 kg of waste daily. If the bogger boat is put into work, all the waste will be cleared in a few months,” he added.

The Local fishermen of the nearby village Mawdun praised this effort of cleaning up the lake. One of them, W Lyngdoh, shared that he and his fellow fishermen had lost all their hope. He said, “The waste has made fishing more difficult. I have seen that the machine can do the job.”

Moreover, Siddhant mentioned that if commissioned with the job, the cleaning cost of ClearBot is almost the same as that of an earthmover. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma is monitoring the entire project implementation, he added.

Currently, a few of CleanBot’s boats are cleaning waste in Varanasi and Bengaluru.