As monsoon approaches, Amdavadis say height of roads to bring more troubles

With the monsoons approaching, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has set about fixing the broken roads across the city. However, many residents have complained that after the resurfacing, they are facing problems and it could only lead to more trouble when the rains start.

"The roads are fixed and seem smooth but due to their unreasonable height, vehicles are facing a lot of problems. It is very risky to drive two-wheelers near the edges of roads and there is a risk of losing balance," said Nimish Joshi, of Anandnagar. Javed Mansuri from Jamalpur said, "AMC has resurfaced the roads, but owing to that, the height of the road has increased so much that I have to construct a small wall to prevent rain water from coming into my house. Previously, the roads were not as high as they are now."

Similar complaints regarding the height of roads have been coming in from other parts of the city too. At many places, dividers which were two feet higher than the streets are now at the same level as the roads.

"In my area, level of the road has increased too much. Because of that, we have to increase height of the paver blocks. Such things happen because of lack of vision. There is no proper coordination between departments of the civic body and ultimately, people have to suffer a lot," said Shahnawaj Shaikh, councillor from Jamalpur.

The uneven roads in the city could also be a major cause of water logging in the rains. Also, such roads get damaged easily.

"These roads get damaged because the proper processes are not followed. Roads must be seal-coated, rolled and paved properly. If the geometric profile of the road is not set while resurfacing, it leads to road damage and water logging," said MN Patel, civil engineer and former vice-chancellor of Gujarat University. "Ideally, once a road is resurfaced, its height should increase by 4 to 6 inches and not more than that. Before resurfacing the road, milling should be done on the existing road," added Patel.

Deputy Municipal Commissioner Mukesh Gadhvi, on the other hand, assures that roads are going to remain intact this year.

"In the city, road repair and resurfacing has been done using five different methods after reviewing their condition. Even after the monsoon, the roads are going to remain intact."