Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Wednesday inaugurated urban development projects worth Rs 239 crore under Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) limits. These included overbridge constructed at a cost of Rs 103 crore, drainage project worth Rs 17 crore and four completed projects worth Rs 119 crore — Rs 55-crore housing project, Rs 53-crore sewage project, Rs 7-crore water distribution project and Rs 4-crore multipurpose hall. Patel in his address said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given direction to the politics of development and under his guidance Gujarat is developing steadily. “Gujarat is the growth engine of the country through development. All the basic facilities are available to the citizens of Gujarat. Ahmedabad has become a livable and lovable city. The eastern and western areas of Ahmedabad city are developing at the same pace,” he stated. The Chief Minister added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has fulfilled his promise to provide free Covid-19 vaccines to the citizens as a pioneering initiative. “The government stood by the people even during the pandemic by providing free vaccinations to citizens. In addition, provision has been made in the budget to provide tests and results for senior citizens while sitting at home. The government is providing health facilities like telemedicine, free medicines for diseases like diabetes, free surgery for major diseases for children up to 12 years. The government has been striving for industrial development and job creation,” the CM added. The Chief Minister added that the school drop-out ratio in education in Gujarat has come down from 38 to 3 per cent. Patesaid that the dream of a house in the city has come true under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana for those who do not have a house or those who live in a small or slum area are well aware of the value of a house. All the basic facilities like light, water, gas are provided in these houses by the municipal corporation. Protest over naming overbridge Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel inaugurated Naroda overbridge Wednesday. It has been named as ‘Sadhguru Swami Teuram’ bridge - putting to rest the dispute over naming it. Around 60 persons were detained after they held a protest during the inauguration over naming the overbridge “The protestors were taken to Naroda police station where they were kept till evening and then released,” said VN Yadav, assistant commissioner of police, G Division, ahmedabad. The CM during his address announced that the name of the bridge which was in demand from residents for long has been kept as Sadhguru Teuramji as requested by the Sindhi community. The dispute was over naming the overbridge. While the Dalit community living on one side of it demanded it to be named after 'Sant Shri Rohidas' the Sindhi community had demanded to name it as 'Sadhguru Swami Teuramji'. The name was cleared in the AMC standing committee recently. Calling the protest a “nuisance” created by a handful of residents from the Dalit community, Ahmedabad Mayor Kirit Parmar told The Indian Express, “It is drama (natak) and nuisance created by not all but merely 10-15 persons from nearby Dalit community.” The overbridge was built at a cost of Rs 103 crore on the Ahmedabad-Himmatnagar railway line near Naroda GIDC.
