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This is an archive article published on February 13, 2023
Residents, shop owners protest Naranpura road widening project
The protestors claim that widening of the existing 80 feet road to 100 feet from Naranpuragam till Naranpura crossroad will not only reduce 10 feet of the residential and commercial area on either side of the road, but also results in cutting hundreds of trees.
On Monday, banners against the ruling BJP government were seen in Naranpura area. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)
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Residents, shop owners protest Naranpura road widening project
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Residents of around 14 residential societies and over 100 shop owners have launched a protest against the road widening project on nearly 1.5 km stretch in Naranpura area of Ahmedabad.
On Monday, banners against the ruling BJP government were seen in Naranpura area.
The protestors claim that widening of the existing 80 feet road to 100 feet from Naranpuragam till Naranpura crossroad will not only reduce 10 feet of the residential and commercial area on either side of the road, but also results in cutting hundreds of trees.
“The connecting road from Naranpura crossing till Ashram road is 50 feet wide. We do not understand the logic of widening this road without widening the connecting road which gets narrower ahead,” said Rakesh Patel, chairman of Lokhandwala society.
In addition to AMC authorities and local BJP MLA, residents have also written to the office of Union Home Minister Amit Shah who has represented this Assembly Constituency in 2012 and is one of the seven assembly constituencies that constitute his Gandhinagar Lok Sabha Constituency.
The residents had held a protest in March last year too when the road widening project was announced by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC).
They had submitted various representations to the Chief Minister and AMC authorities.
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However, following the protests and fearing a backlash and election boycott, the government announced to stop the project, stated residents.
“The houses have a 15 feet margin but with the road widening taking away 10 feet on both the sides, these houses will be literally on the road. Residents would not be able to live here with no place for vehicles to be parked and increased noise pollution,” Patel added.
Alleging that the decision to widen the road was not taken “in public interest” and was a “political” one, residents claimed that they got a traffic survey done from an agency that had submitted its report stating that there is no requirement of road widening.
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