Incessant rains throw city out of gear

AHMEDABAD: Incessant rains for the last two days have thrown the city out of gear with choc-a-bloc traffic, waterlogged roads, danger signs cropping up in front of cave-ins, underpasses shutdown and trees falling like nine pins.

The monsoon control room of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) received complaints of 17 trees being uprooted, a majority of them in the walled city area and western parts. So far, the city has lost more than 200 trees in the torrential rains.

Cave-ins too have continued to appear with six more being reported on Wednesday. A senior AMC official said, “More than 35 cave-ins have been reported so far.”

If this is not enough, there are nine unsafe buildings in the walled city and eastern parts which pose a threat to people living nearby. A senior AMC official said, “The estate department is taking remedial measures to avoid any major mishap. Many of these buildings have been served notices.”

Waterlogging has brought life to a standstill in Srinandnagar with residents having to wade through chest-deep water. They have hired tractors to get out from their homes. AMC authorities say they are helpless. Municipal commissioner IP Gautam said, “We have put additional pumps into service to drain out the water. The topography of the area is such that surface water from kilometres away accumulates there.”

“We are proposing to set up an additional storm water drainage project in the area. The project will be completed within two years,” Gautam said.

AMC officials have received complaints of waterlogging in 21 different parts of the city with the city recording 147 mm of rain between 4 pm on Wednesday and 6 am on Thursday.

Officer on special duty, drainage, Tarun Lad said, “The newly-laid storm water drainage pipeline has a disposal capacity of one inch per hour. There have not been any reports of waterlogging in areas where the pipelines have been laid.”