Ahmedabad: The Sabarmati River cleaning drive, launched on May 15 by Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Ltd, was declared complete on Thursday. During this clean-up, teams cleared out a total of 945 metric tonnes of waste from the riverbed. This included 166 metric tonnes of plastic, 86 metric tonnes of wood waste, and 608 metric tonnes of other waste. However, some sections still contained water, preventing a full clean-up. In the next two days, after discussions with the irrigation department, water from the Narmada will be released into the Sabarmati riverbed. The clean-up, led by mayor Pratibha Jain, started on May 15 — after a day’s delay — from a section between Subash Bridge and Sabarmati Ashram. On the first day of the clean-up, 76 tonnes of waste was dredged out. The first phase involved public participation. Sources also said that the state irrigation department began pre-monsoon repairs on the Vasna Barrage on May 12 and completed the exercise on Thursday. The riverbed was emptied during this and SRFDCL announced the clean-up in phases. Although the river began to be emptied on May 10, it was not completely drained. Water remains around Atal Bridge and the bullet train bridge near Subhash Bridge. Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s standing committee chairman Devang Dani said that over 90,000 people participated in the cleanup, which is now complete. He added that the river will be filled with Narmada water in the coming two days. When asked about the sections that were not emptied, he said those did not require cleaning.AMC had carried out a similar drive in 2019. Since then, a lot of construction and demolition waste went into the river . Such debris has still not been removed from some section. Additionally, even after the river was emptied, sewage continued to flow into it, causing an unbearable stench in surrounding areas.