Mammoth truck covers 1,700 kms in 10 months
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A 74-tyre truck carrying machinery weighing 70 tonnes finally reached the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday 10 months after it began its journey from Maharashtra’s Nashik, around 1,700 km away, to the country’s premier research institute. The lockdown imposed to check Covid-19 spread from March 25 delayed its arrival by a month.
Regular trucks cover the distance in five to seven days. The mammoth truck moved at a snail’s pace with each of the five states it journeyed through making special arrangements for it. When it moved, escorted by police teams, the movement of other vehicles was stopped. In some places potholed roads had to be repaired, trees cut and electric poles removed to make way for the truck carrying an aerospace autoclave. Autoclaves are used to process materials needing exposure to elevated temperature and pressure.
Subhash Yadav, an employee of, Inland World Logistics, the private firm engaged in transferring the machine, said the lockdown made their movement difficult. “In Andhra Pradesh, our vehicle was detained for a month due to the lockdown... Engineers and mechanics were there in our team of 30 which accompanied the Volvo FM series truck,” he said. They began their journey on September 1 last year.
Yadav said the machinery is 7.5 metres high and 7 metres wide. Since the chassis of the vehicle carrying the machinery had to be strong, the truck almost covered the entire road at many places. “At two places, special iron girders were put to strengthen bridges,” he said.
Another team member said on the condition of anonymity, “Most of us walked throughout, it was a challenging experience for us.”
A VSSC official said, “The autoclave is expected to be commissioned this month.”