The Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) has spent crores of rupees under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for the development of the city; but Alkapuri,one of the posh areas of the city,is depicting a sorry state of affairs. Right from water-logging to incomplete works by the VMC and traffic jams,Alkapuri,which is supposed to be a shoppers paradise,has turned into a nightmare for the visitors. Work on the Rail overbridge project connecting Jetalpur and Parshuram Bhattha led to a substantial increase in traffic on the Alkapuri Road. To add to the problem,the road has been dug up at several places,to the extent that it now resembles a motocross dirt track,full of the mud slurry. The most problematic patch is near the GUVNL sub-station. On one hand,while the traffic police have converted the BPC junction into a bottleneck,the road has literally shrunk to its minimum width as the major part is now potholed. Though storm water drainages were laid across the city,Alkapuri was ignored by the municipal authorities; this despite the fact that water-logging is a perennial problem in the area. After the drainage laying work is over,the VMC has completely failed to re-carpet the road and now the onset of the monsoon has hampered the initiation of any sort of patchwork. Besides,the internal roads on both sides of Alkapuri Road lie in shambles. Right from water logging to potholes and manholes,these roads hardly serve any purpose for the commuters. It is true that Alkapuri is being neglected as compared to other areas. We have taken up several projects and it will be initiated once the monsoon is over, said local municipal councillor and Standing Committee chairman Dinesh Choksi. He added: We will broaden the road once the monsoon is over and it will ease the traffic problems to a great extent. Furthermore,the storm water drainage,which has been installed to limited parts of the area,will be completed in the coming days. Traffic police officers said the issue of congestion during peak hours on Alkapuri Road will be taken up during the coordination meeting with the VMC. It is true that the BPC crossing has become a bottleneck and we are working on the alternatives to ease the traffic congestion, said ACP Traffic N C Patel.
