Ahmedabad's Soggy Saga: New Drainage Fails, City Floods

It's a story we've all heard before, but it never gets less frustrating. A city invests a massive amount of money into a big, shiny infrastructure project meant to solve a persistent problem, only for that problem to reappear almost immediately. This is exactly what just happened in Ahmedabad, where a brand-new, multi-crore drainage line, touted as the ultimate solution to monsoon woes, seems to have failed its very first test, leaving residents quite literally underwater.

Key Highlights

• ✓ A new drainage project, the Eastern Main Trunk Line, was completed for over Rs 81-93 crore.
• ✓ Just one week after its inauguration, heavy rains led to severe waterlogging in eastern Ahmedabad.
• ✓ Opposition leader Shehzad Khan Pathan heavily criticized the project's failure and the AMC's overall monsoon preparedness.
• ✓ The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) defended its actions, dismissing claims and promising improvements by the next monsoon.
• ✓ Officials acknowledged 147 waterlogging hotspots, with over 100 submerged during the first major rainfall.

The Grand Promise vs. The Grimy Reality

Let’s set the scene. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) recently wrapped up work on the Eastern Main Trunk Line, a major project designed to be a game-changer for the city's drainage system. Depending on the report you read, the cost was somewhere between a hefty Rs 81.4 crore and Rs 93.40 crore. This primary pipeline, running from the Nikols Kathwada area to the Vinzol Sewage Treatment Plant (STP), was designed to handle huge volumes of wastewater and stormwater.

At the inauguration on July 22, the mood was optimistic. Mayor Pratibha Jain assured everyone that this project would finally bring much-needed relief to flood-prone areas. But here's the kicker: just one week later, after a mere two days of rainfall, the promises began to wash away. Areas like Odhav, Nikol, Hathijan, Vastral, and Isanpur were hit with severe waterlogging. According to reports, the accumulated water in some of these neighborhoods didn't recede for at least six long hours, turning roads into canals and bringing daily life to a standstill.

A Flood of Criticism from the Opposition

As you can imagine, the opposition didn't stay quiet for long. Congress's opposition leader, Shehzad Khan Pathan, quickly went to the media to voice his concerns, and he came armed with some pretty stark numbers. He pointed out the obvious: "Despite the AMC's claim of completing the eastern trunk line, several areas in the eastern part of the city experienced severe waterlogging after just two days of rainfall." He argued that simply installing one trunk line was never going to be a comprehensive solution.

Pathan also criticized the ruling BJP, which has been governing the AMC for over two decades, for failing to resolve these persistent monsoon issues. He highlighted the gap between rhetoric and reality, noting that the AMC had previously promised "AI-enabled solutions" to manage water accumulation, but the situation on the ground remained stubbornly unchanged. He drove the point home by highlighting just how inadequate the city's drainage network is. In the last 10 years, only 59 km of new stormwater lines have been laid. That’s a drop in the bucket for a city with over 3,200 km of roads, of which only 965 km are even covered by storm water lines.

💡 What's Interesting: According to Shehzad Khan Pathan, over the last five years, only 1% of the AMC’s massive Rs 47,289 crore budget—just Rs 124.29 crore—was actually allocated to stormwater management.

The criticism didn't stop there. Pathan also raised serious concerns about the AMC's monitoring infrastructure. He pointed out a major flaw: prominent, high-traffic areas like Sindhu Bhavan Road and SG Highway weren't even visible on the centralized control room's monitoring system. This essentially exposes a failure of real-time oversight and makes it difficult to manage problems as they happen. If you can't see the problem, how can you fix it?

The AMC's Defense: "Acche Din Aayenge"

Faced with this barrage of criticism, the AMC quickly mounted a defense. The AMC's standing committee chairman, Devang Dani, dismissed the Congress's claims as "baseless." He countered that, thanks to timely planning, "rainwater now drains within hours." It's a classic "he said, she said" situation, with residents likely caught in the middle wondering which version to believe.

Dani was supported by Water Committee Chairman Dilip Bagriya, who reiterated that development work is proceeding on schedule. Dani went a step further, famously declaring, "Acche Din Aayenge" (Better days will come). He asserted that current and future infrastructure projects, particularly an upcoming western trunk line near SP Ring Road, will make a huge difference and significantly reduce waterlogging issues by next year’s monsoon. It's a promise of future relief for a present-day problem.

Deputy Municipal Commissioner (DyMC) Mirant Parikh provided a bit more context, acknowledging that officials had identified 147 waterlogging hotspots in their pre-monsoon plan. He admitted that over 100 of these spots were indeed submerged during the first heavy downpour. He attributed this partly to ongoing construction work and assured the public that drainage works and lake development projects are now underway in the city's newly merged areas. Officials also claimed that the mayor and others visited the worst-hit areas like Vatva, Lambha, Ramol, and Hathijan, and that roads were cleared thanks to the proactive use of high-capacity pumps.

Conclusion

So, where does this leave the people of Ahmedabad? It's a messy situation. On one side, you have a massive, expensive new project that seemingly failed to deliver immediate results, fueling public frustration and providing ammunition for the political opposition. The opposition is pointing to what they see as systemic issues: underfunding, inadequate planning, and a lack of real-time monitoring over many years.

On the other side, the civic body is defending its actions, claiming things are better than they appear and asking for patience. They are pointing to ongoing work and promising that next year will be different. The bottom line is a familiar one for urban residents everywhere: a significant gap between official assurances and the on-the-ground reality. As the monsoon continues, the citizens of Ahmedabad can only hope that the promises of "better days" arrive sooner rather than later.