Waterlogging at airport as torrential rainfall hits Ahmedabad

“Terminal 4, which has no passenger activities, experienced some waterlogging issues and it was immediately addressed. T4 has some offices w.r.t. CNS (Communications, Navigation and Surveillance Systems) and other activities… By 2:00 am, all water was drained out, and the situation was normalised outside the terminal building and other areas,” the statement added.

The civic authorities blamed the ongoing civil work and the airport authorities for the waterlogging. “Since Adani Group, after it took over the airport, has laid its own stormwater and drainage system, there might be some issues. A lot of development and civil works are ongoing at the airport. The concrete and other materials (from the work) might have choked the pipes, too,” an AMC senior official told this paper.

While the Ahmedabad-Ranchi flight was diverted due to visibility issues, none of the flights got cancelled despite heavy rainfall, said an airport official.

The authorities also said that around 200 people worked in tandem to bring the situation under control.

This is Adani managed Airport, Ahmedabad, Gujarat pic.twitter.com/c8XRhI1v54

— Punit Juneja (@punitjuneja) July 22, 2023

Delhi-based advocate Rajneesh Bhaskar Gupta (40) who was one of the passengers at the Ahmedabad airport Saturday, said, “The main road connecting the airport was filled with water till my knees. Passengers had to open their shoes and enter the airport. When I went inside the airport, there was water even on the ground and the runway.”

As part of the airport’s monsoon contingency plan, a number of initiatives were undertaken, including activation of support services to reduce inconveniences to passengers and arrangement of special coaches to assist passengers to reach the drop-off area.

The airport operator has also decided to include special manpower, increase pumps to dewater the drains and create more drains to address excessive rainfall in the near future.

“There have been stories in the past of the runway getting flooded and causing flight disturbances. Last year in April, we laid an 8.5-km drainage at the airport to ensure the runway doesn’t get hampered and this year, it worked as none of the runways were flooded,” said an airport official on the condition of anonymity.

4 inches of rainfall in 6 hours

Waterlogging leading to traffic snarls was witnessed across Ahmedabad Saturday night after the city received 131 mm rainfall within six hours.

At 188 mm, Bopal recorded the highest rainfall Saturday from 6 pm till midnight.
Kotarpur received 175 mm, Bodakdev 164 mm, Kathwada and Jodhpur 161 mm each, Maktampura 160 mm, Dudheshwar 159 mm, Gota 150.50 mm, Sarkhej and Chankheda 144.50 mm, Chakudia and Usmanpura 143 mm, Maninagar 137 mm and Paldi recorded 129 mm rainfall.

Other areas that received over 100 mm rainfall include Memco, Viratnagar, Naroda, Chandlodiya, Danapith, Odhav, Nikol and Science City.

Commuters on two- and four-wheelers were seen struggling to wad through waterlogged roads amid the heavy downpour. Three Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Services (AMTS) buses broke down on the roads and were removed Sunday.

At 4 pm Sunday, the water level at Vasna barrage was reported to be 129 feet as two gates were opened by one foot. Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) authorities revealed that on Saturday night, the water level in the Sabarmati River had touched 133.25 feet. However, it was reduced to 126 feet on Sunday.

To avoid adverse incidents, seven underpasses were closed on Saturday evening. While four were opened Sunday, the remaining three — Usmanpura, Parimal Garden and Akhbarnagar — were opened for traffic later Sunday, said AMC city engineer Harpalsinh Zala. All the underpasses and roads were opened for traffic Sunday.

Eighty-three pumps across 34 storm water drainage pumping stations were connected through the SCADA system — a real-time, computerised data gathering, analysing and monitoring system — for dewatering the waterlogged areas.