Ahmedabad in a space crunch: Solution lies under bridges

The flyovers of a city tell the tale of a city's development and growth. But the idle open spaces lying under them indicate the missed opportunities for locals. Today, when the city is facing a shortage of open spaces, spaces under flyovers are lying idle and creating a nuisance for the public at some places.

Municipal commissioner Guruprasad Mohapatra said, "We will certainly consider projects to utilise the open space below flyovers in the city in a more effective way. We are studying the proposals." An official of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) said that all flyovers of the city will soon have pay and park facility to decongest the roads. But the policy is still being formulated.

Shivranjini flyover:
Consider the example of Shivranjini flyover where an entire stretch of road between the two bridges is unused and dirty. The neglected vacant place is dumped with garbage, full of dirty, stagnant water and weeds. A resident of that area, requesting anonymity said, "We have approached the corporation several times with the problem and asked them to clear the garbage and remove the weeds, but have met with no response." He added that in monsoon the condition becomes worse as the area is full of stagnant water.

The area under Shivranjini flyover has been given on contract to an agency for pay and park facilities. Though AMC is earning Rs12 lakh yearly from the contractor for the stretch even the agency is facing problems with that trouble some spot.

"Though we have paid for the entire area under the bridge, that stretch is a nuisance and people refuse to park their vehicles in such a dirty area towards the end of the bridge," said Wilson, one of the contractors. He said his agency had written to Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited (AJL) and AMC several times asking them to clean up the area so that it can be utilised, but no action has been taken by the civic body.

Recently, at an exhibition held in the city, artists displayed various ways how congested areas of the city can be beautified. One was setting up a screen in the open space below flyovers to view matches or conduct programmes. When Mohapatra was asked about implementing the proposal for the Shivranjini flyover he said, "Though the concept is nice, it cannot be said whether we will implement it as it needs lot of planning, procedures and requires time."

Shyamal flyover:
Shyamal flyover can serve as a model for others of the city. Here space under the bridge has been utilised in an optimum way. The space has been used for a small gymnasium, a senior citizen's park and a library.

Interestingly, the library has received good response from people of nearby areas. The library, which has been functioning for the past three years, receives around 40-50 people daily and also has several members on regular basis.

However, this development is on one part of the bridge while the other lies vacant. This part has become a shelter for the poor where they live, cook and sleep at night. Will it be developed in the near future? Mohapatra said nothing has been planned as yet.

Nathalal overbridge(Maninagar):
Another flyover of the city which has been well utilised is the Nathalal Bridge situated in Maninagar. Electrical and electronics shops are functional below the flyover which have been given on rent by the civic body. Apart from good use of the open space AMC gets a tidy sum.

Jamalpur overbridge:
Situated near the vegetable market, Jamalpur flyover is one such open space which has not been utilised since long for any activity. The area below the bridge serves as a nukkad (hang-out) for slum youth and has a great potential for other activities like setting up library for the poor. Corporator of Jamalpur, Mustak Khadiwala, said that the open space has no particular use. "I heard there will be a pay and park facility coming up soon in the area," he said. The road under the bridge gets congested with traffic during peak hours creating a nuisance.