ગુજરાતી
English
Ahmedabad: The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation was spending ₹1,000 crore annually on the construction of new roads, the reconstruction of old roads, and patching work by 2024, with the aim of providing good road facilities to citizens.
However, most of the roads break down every year during the monsoon season, which is a harsh and harsh reality. The Congress has accused the ruling BJP of opening a new avenue of corruption in the name of the model road, then the white-topping road, and now the iconic road.
Reacting to this, Municipal Corporation Opposition Leader Shahzad Khan Pathan said that despite talking about development, municipal officials have failed to build a good and durable asphalt road in the last two decades. Rainwater accumulates even during normal rainfall, and the road’s makeup is worn away every year. Thousands of potholes and hundreds of potholes have appeared on the roads in the last ten years alone.
This wastes public tax money. However, despite spending ₹300 crore on model roads and ₹250 crore on white-topping roads, the waterlogging and rainwater on the roads remain unresolved.
It is clear that public money spent on roads has been wasted due to corrupt administration, yet ruling BJP officials are now reluctant to approve ₹405 crore worth of work in the name of prestigious roads. Before making a decision on this, the ruling BJP should review the work on model roads and other roads.
Why do new roads break down even after spending crores of rupees? This should be investigated, and adequate care should be taken to ensure that the roads are durable and of good quality before such work is started. Otherwise, the Congress Party strongly opposes this work.
Concrete roads are being constructed using the white-topping method. To mitigate the problem of rainwater runoff caused by white-topping, the Municipal Corporation’s Road Projects Department has paid close attention to this issue and has constructed over 700 new catch pits on approximately 13 kilometers of roads.
This is expected to facilitate rainwater drainage and reduce inconvenience to citizens. Under the white-topping method for concrete roads in Ahmedabad city, 554 catch pits already exist on 18 roads spanning approximately 13 kilometers. New storm drain lines have been laid and 715 more catch pits have been constructed.
This brings the total number of catch pits to 1,269 across approximately 13 kilometers. Approximately 13 kilometers of roads are planned to be developed as concrete roads using the white-topping method. The objective of this plan is to ensure quick and efficient drainage of rainwater on major roads.
To protect Ahmedabad city residents from traffic jams caused by rainwater accumulation during the rainy season, concrete roads have been constructed using the white-topping method. Various roads in Ahmedabad, such as Gurukul to Tirthnagar Road, Trikamlal Square to Sanjaynagar Square, Alok Bungalow to Siddhi Bungalow, Sanjaynagar to Chamunda Crematorium Road, Bijal Park Road, Revmani Hall to Sanskriti Apartment Road, Stilling Hospital Road,
Vivekanand Circle to Surdhara Sakal Road, Surdhara Circle to S.G. Highway Road, Rahul Tower to Star Bazaar Road, Omkareshwar Temple to Sainik Petrol Pump Road, Swagat Apartment to Swaminarayan Temple Road, Swanik Arcade to Naranpura Sports Complex, Bhamriya Kuwa to Lambha Baliyadev Temple Road, Umiya Complex to Samriddhi Green Vastral Road,
Bhairavnath Temple to Rajeshwari Canal Road, Jayendra Pandit Road, Gomtipur Veer Bhagat Singh Hall to Fire Station via BRTS, are planned to be developed as concrete roads using the white-topping method. When contacted, Municipal Corporation Deputy Commissioner Vipul Thakkar and City Engineer Harpal Singh Jhala explained that during the white-topping process, the plinth level of existing societies is surveyed to ensure that the construction of the new road does not erode their properties. In societies where the plinth level is already lower than the existing road, plans are underway to construct catch pits to prevent rainwater from accumulating due to the low level.
In the ongoing white-topping road construction in Ahmedabad, the work is done by overlaying the existing asphalt road. If the existing asphalt road is at least 75 mm thick, it is milled and concreted to a thickness of 150 mm to 180 mm.
Typically, if the existing road is 150 to 200 mm thick, 75 mm of the road is removed by milling. Then, concrete is applied to the remaining asphalt to a thickness of 150 to 200 mm. This raises the original road height by approximately 3 to 4 inches. This increase in height is effectively achieved by increasing the slope in the parking area by 2 inches (50 mm).
This typically raises the final road level slightly. However, since the existing asphalt road has been leveled and its thickness is known, and the new road is constructed using maximum milling, there is no significant change in the final level.
In addition, during the ongoing work to develop the concrete road using the white-topping method, a new rainwater harvesting system has also been constructed outside the existing society property. If the required catch pits are not constructed on the road, new catch pits are planned.
