Nagpur: Flash floods that hit West Nagpur on Tuesday have raised questions over effectiveness of desilting carried out by civic agencies, with residents alleging that the exercise was reduced to merely shifting sludge from the nullah bed to its banks instead of scientifically removing and disposing it of.A day after Tuesday’s flooding, Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) deployed a Poclain excavator at Bor nullah near Gorewada Road as part of a clean-up drive. However, a video of the site captured by a resident purportedly shows the excavator lifting sludge from Bor nullah’s banks and dumping it on its bed instead of transporting it to a designated disposal site.Requesting anonymity, the resident alleged that the practice defeated the very purpose of desilting. “Removing silt from the channel and piling it on the banks is not desilting. During the next spell of rain, the soil can easily wash back into the nullah, reducing its carrying capacity once again,” he said.He also alleged that excavated materearth generated during the ongoing retaining wall work had remained along the nullah for weeks despite repeated complaints, making the clean-up exercise largely cosmetic.Corporator Seema Dawre from Prabhag number 10 claimed the failure to scientifically dispose of the material contributed to the flooding witnessed earlier this week.The overflowing of Bor (Gorewada) nullah on Tuesday left a trail of destruction across several west Nagpur localities. Floodwaters entered houses in New Ahbab Colony, Palloti Nagar, Arafat Society, Mahesh Nagar, Swagat Nagar, Sangam Nagar, Anant Nagar, Yogendra Nagar and Jafar Nagar, forcing residents to scramble to safety and shift vehicles and valuables to higher ground.Internal roads and culverts were submerged, disrupting traffic and stranding commuters. The flooding also coincided with school dispersal, leaving students stranded as approach roads went under water.Residents said the repeated inundation has become an annual ordeal, with every spell of heavy rain causing the nullah to overflow into adjoining residential areas.Residents questioned the manner in which drainage maintenance is being carried out across the city, alleging that several nullahs are cleaned similarly every year, with sludge left on the banks for days before eventually slipping back into the channels during rain.Following complaints over the NIT operation, a team from NMC’s Mangalwari zone led by executive engineer Sunil Uikey reached the site and removed the sludge piled along the banks.Residents demanded that civic agencies adopt scientific desilting practices by immediately transporting excavated silt to authorised dumping sites instead of leaving it alongside drains.NIT chairman Sanjay Meena said he has already issued directives to divisional officer (technical, west division) Sandip Raut to look into the issue raised by locals.
