3 min readAhmedabadFeb 18, 2009 03:14 AM IST
First published on: Feb 18, 2009 at 03:14 AM IST
Bopal is one of the fastest developing areas in Ahmedabad. Ironically,it also hints at the chaotic real estate development that took place without paying heed to the availability of water,electricity and roads in the vicinity. As the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA) plans to develop Bopal,the Bopal Gram Panchayat is in doubt if anything like that can happen in an already ‘developed’ area with 60 per cent of land blocked by realtors.
Viramdevsinh Chudasama,the talati of Bopal Gram Panchayat,said: “Bopal was all about constructing high-rise buildings,lavish row houses,and VIP bungalows on cheap land with no roads,water and even electricity available. The village was,of course,not ready with the infrastructure to support that kind of development. The developers constructed the buildings blindly and washed their hands off. They did not even bother to build roads near their own buildings.”
Bopal remained unattended despite the neighbouring villages of Amli,Shilaj and Manipur coming under the jurisdiction of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). After years of debate,Bopal finally came under AUDA in 2008.
Bopal even lacks a proper drainage system. The residents are awaiting for drainage lines to their houses. Chudasama added: “We had to construct sock pits in front of each house to dispose off the dirty water. After a few years,the sock pits became cesspools of pests. The situation gets worse every year,especially during monsoons.”
The area also has a temporary storm water connection where a major line is connected to other pipelines to dispose off the rainwater. But the residents have filed complaints of the line overflowing during the monsoon. The panchayat now runs a tanker system to collect dirty water and dispose it outside the city.
The area still runs on borewell water. There are eight borewells and overhead tanks. The water is treated with chlorine and then supplied to the residents.
Chudasama added: “The water is treated,but it is not clean. We had,therefore,suggested to the district panchayat to set up collection points for Narmada water and supply the same. But that has become a distant dream now.”
The absence of internal roads poses a serious problem to Bopal,which is connected to the SP Ring Road,Bopal-Guma Road and to roads to Sanand and Kadi.
“Traffic is a perennial problem here. More than half of the area has gone under construction. There is little scope to widen the roads. We need connecting roads to make traffic smooth here,” he added.
The local panchayat has also demanded the development of crematoriums in Bopal,which has four small crematoriums with no water,bathing and sitting facilities.
The panchayat has now called for an urgent need for proper drainage,water and road facilities.
Share
