Particulate matter (PM) pollution is one of the most pressing air quality challenges in India. Sources such as road dust play a substantial role, contributing significantly to the ambient PM. Given the significant contribution of road dust to particulate pollution, a large share of the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) funding was utilised in managing road dust in polluted cities. In India, road cleaning is carried out through manual, mechanical, and water-based methods, and, in some cities, vacuum-assisted sweeping. 

Many cities have shifted from manual sweeping to mechanised cleaning. However, we lack data on their effectiveness in reducing road dust, especially the resuspendable fraction of road dust, or silt load. This exploratory study measures silt load values across different road types in three Indian cities (Mumbai, Indore, and Ahmedabad) and evaluates the effectiveness of road-cleaning mechanisms and the speed at which silt load reaccumulate after cleaning.