Sabarmati in spate as dam water released

The lower promenade of the Sabarmati riverfront, Ahmedabad drowned on July 25, 2017, as water was released at 1.3 lakh cusecs from the Dharoi dam, 131km upstream of Ahmedabad. Since 5 am on Tuesday, there was heavy deployment of police and district administration officials along the 10.5km riverfront.

This is for the fourth time that the riverfront’s lower promenade has submerged. In the past, it sank in 2006, 2011, and 2015. Two years ago, water was released at 1.8 lakh cusecs from the Dharoi dam and the lower promenade had completely submerged. The Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Limited (SRFDCL) had spent Rs 7 lakh to clean the riverfront stretch two years ago.

Municipal commissioner Mukesh Kumar said, “These are exceptional times, but with new technologies available, better flood management is possible which will lower such occurrences of submergence.” The riverfront, it is said, is designed for flood waters coming at 4.5 lakh cusecs. In fact its 10-metre retaining walls protect the city from the immediate onslaught of floods.

The architect of the riverfront, Bimal Patel, stated, “The whole promenade is concrete, including its furniture and even the tree pits that curb soil erosion and protect trees.”

A senior SRFDCL official told, “The lower promenades are designed to be submerged when there is heavy release of water from the Dharoi dam. The promenade is designed at the level of the Vasna barrage and lets citizens close to the water for most of the year.”

(Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com)