Vadodara: Three inches of rain in just two hours and the city began to drift in many places even in the heart of the city itself, forget the peripheral area.
In fact, many houses near Kashi Vishwanath Temple are flooded for hours on Saturdays too.
Until Sunday night, several parts in the eastern suburb of the city were still flooded since the September 10 rainfall.
Vadodara is not new to heavy rain with a city that experiences very heavy rainfall in the past.
However, in only the past few years that heavy rain for several hours can only be converted into the main flood misery for citizens.
Environmental and urban lovers blame the frequent water in the city with ‘disturbed’ geography and topography in the region in the past two decades.
“Vadodara topography is uneven and there are several undulations.
The complicated landscape topology has been fully neglected in a random planning process,” said Sanjeev Joshi, an urbanist architect.
“The Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) or Urban Development Authority Vadodara (VUDA) must plan a city planning scheme that maintains the topography of the city in mind and must take awareness of rampant construction activities,” Joshi Toi said.
Joshi further said that for centuries Vadodara had a river tissue, Nullah, wetlands, and a mixed pool.
However, the construction of buildings and haphazard roads has disrupted this antectivity relationship because waterlogging problems have often occurred in recent years.
Joshi also said that some channels were lost.
Wetlands and channels have been filled for years to develop buildings or roads.
“A lot of wetlands and pools have been filled, but there are still many remaining and this can be a reservoir to prevent puddles,” he added.
A past study by the Gujarat City-based Ecology Community (GES) also revealed that Vadodara had lost around 40 hectares of wetlands.
This area is equal to eight sursagar pools put together.
“Because this wetland has been lost, water appears on the road,” said Dr.
Deepa Gavali, Director of GES.
“Just before the monsoon, the civic body has put a new storm water flowing from Shannen’s school to Mukhinagar, our streets are flooded,” said Tejas Brahmbhatt, a resident of Khodiyarnagar.
On the night of September 10, the cellphone several council members continued to rings when water began to enter their homes.