Sludge piles up as Nagpur’s river clean-up drive hits transport wall

Nagpur: The river rejuvenation drive for 2026 launched by Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) is facing critical last-mile challenge, with a significant gap emerging between sludge excavation and its disposal. Even as officials push to meet the April 30 deadline to clean the city's three major rivers, data shows transportation of excavated silt remains far behind pace.Against a target of 65,000 cubic metres (CBM) of sludge removal, only about 15,000 CBM has been transported so far — just 23%. This leaves over 40,000 CBM silt still lying along riverbanks, raising concerns about the effectiveness of the clean-up, particularly with the monsoon around the corner.Overall, around 67.71% of the 49.16-km river stretch — covering Nag, Pili and Pora rivers — has been cleaned. The Nag river is the frontrunner, with 86.54% of its stretch completed, followed by Pili river at 67.42%. Pora clean-up continues to lag at 47.5%.However, the progress is largely confined to excavation. Nag river alone has seen 39,215 CBM of sludge removed, but more than 25,000 CBM remains to be transported. The situation is more stark in case of Pili river, where 9,640 CBM has been excavated, but just 67 CBM has been shifted. Pora river, too, has over 5,000 CBM pending transportation.The imbalance is linked to uneven resource deployment. Nag river has been allocated bulk of machinery — including all 3 JCBs and 15 tippers — while Pili and Pora rivers have no dedicated transport equipment, slowing down sludge lifting operations.An NMC official, however, said the situation is temporary and assured that all excavated sludge will be shifted in coming days. "Entire material removed from the riverbeds will be transported shortly. We are working to complete the process before the April 30 deadline," the official said.Responding to queries on the slow pace in case of Pora river, the official explained that the stretch poses logistical challenges as parts of it fall outside city limits. "The river passes through out-of-city areas as well. At the same time, we are also cleaning stretches in Besa and adjoining areas, which is affecting the pace," the official added.Despite the assurances, experts caution that unless transportation picks up immediately, the acCBMulated sludge could wash back into the rivers during heavy rains, undoing the progress made so far and increasing flood risks.The data highlights a key operational gap in the project — while excavation is nearing targets, disposal has not kept pace. With the deadline looming, the focus now shifts to whether the civic body can bridge this gap in time or risk the clean-up turning into a partial, short-lived effort.