Ahmedabad: Shela, one of the fastest-growing areas with significant real estate development in recent years, is now facing major civic challenges. Residents are grappling with deteriorating infrastructure, including poor roads, waterlogging, and drainage issues, particularly during the monsoon season. On Sunday, heavy rains caused a massive cave-in on Club O7 Road near Sky City township, large enough to swallow an SUV.
The stretch from Club O7 to SP Ring Road and its parallel road (VIP Road) currently hosts around 15,000 dwellings, with another 15,000 expected to be ready soon as many housing projects are under construction. According to Shela residents, the situation worsened when the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) and Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA) began road resurfacing work on VIP Road just a few months before the monsoon, despite knowing they couldn’t complete it in time.
#WATCH | Gujarat | Amid heavy rainfall that the city has witnessed, a road collapsed in the Shela area of Ahmedabad city. pic.twitter.com/kKIFHp1KlS
— ANI (@ANI) June 30, 2024
Arvind Gupta, a resident of Vraj Homes in Shela, stated, “I have made multiple complaints to AMC and AUDA about the ground reality. It seems the civic authorities and the contractors are in connivance to let these issues persist.”
He added, “If laymen like us can see that the civic work started cannot be completed before monsoon, why can’t the authorities hold contractors accountable for timely completion and defect liabilities?”
Recently, some Shela residents made a video highlighting the poor civic workmanship and the resulting hardships. They questioned whether they were living in an “urban slum” despite paying Rs 70 lakh to Rs 1 crore for apartments in what they believed to be an upmarket area. Instead, they find themselves wading through sewage water outside their posh societies.
A realtor with several upcoming schemes in Shela, speaking anonymously, said, “We met senior AUDA officials about five years ago, advising them to address drainage and sewerage concerns, which would become major issues for residents.
“When AUDA and AMC grant permissions to developers, they are aware of the anticipated increase in area density, which will lead to higher water usage and sewage outflow. They had five years to implement an effective drainage and storm water system.”