Waterlogging, cave-ins, water-borne diseases: Raining woes in Ahmedabad

Residents blamed the road digging work taken up by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation just ahead of the monsoon for cave-ins and pot holes on the city streets.

“This is the same story after the first heavy monsoon rain every year. All the digging work by the AMC before the monsoon leaves roads sinking-in at innumerable places. We have to bear the brunt till the monsoon season lasts,” said one of the city residents near Meethakali six-roads.

As many as 69 pumps have been deployed in areas like Gomtipur, Bhaipura, Vastral, Odhav and Vatva to clear waterlogged streets.

Civic authorities are also witnessing a spurt in water-related diseases.The AMC’s health department has initiated fumigation and distribution of chlorine pills to fight off the threat of water- and vector-borne diseases.

As per the data available with the municipal health department, as many as 182 cases of diarrhoea have been reported in the first six days of August, besides 81 cases of typhoid.

As many as 311 cases of malaria and one case of dengue have been reported till August 6. The AMC has scheduled medical camps at 20 places in the city next week.

Aiming to control vector borne diseases in slum areas, the AMC has initiated the “indoor residual spray (IRS)”, which covers sprinkling of insecticides inside houses. “Apart from massive fogging, mosquito density areas are being identified on a daily basis to check breeding of mosquitoes. As many as 700 construction sites have been identified in the city which are being monitored on a weekly basis,” said AMC health officer Dr Bhavin Solanki