Dholera waterlogged, reconsider Smart City project: Farmers

With Dholera region submerged in water for three days because of heavy rains in past fortnight, Gujarat Khedut Ekta Samiti, a farmers' organization, has raised question regarding the feasibility and economic viability of upcoming Dholera Smart City project, saying that if water logging is so widespread, how can a high tech city be sustained.

However, a senior official of Dholera Industrial City Development Ltd (DICDL) said that they are using satellite images to understand the drainage pattern, based on which a comprehensive plan will be prepared.

In a press statement on Monday, Sagar Rabari, president of the Samiti said that Bhal area, where the smart city is coming up, has been waterlogged for over three days now and the villages have been cut off from rest of the state.

Vehicular traffic has been stopped on Bhavnagar-Vadodara highway. Under such circumstances, the state government should reconsiderits rigid state over the project.

"This is a low lying area, which gets waterlogged during monsoon and tides. A city can be developed only if large scale filling is conducted, which is neither possible nor economically viable. The government is desperately trying to attract investors during Vibrant Gujarat Summits, but so far the responses have been cold. Most of those, impressed by powerpoint presentation, and had signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) are backing out," said Rabari.

The government is putting all its might since 2011 to develop a Smart City in Bhal area. This area has been waterlogged for over three days now and the villages have been cut off from rest of the state. Vehicular traffic has been stopped on Bhavnagar – Vadodara highway.

When asked about waterlogging of the villages, Jaiprakash Shivhare, managing director of Dholera Industrial City Development Ltd (DICDL) told DNA that rains have been unprecedented and it was not just Dholera, that was waterlogged but other parts of the state as well. "We are using the satellite intelligence from Bhaskaracharya Institute of Space Application and Geoinformatics (BISAG) to understand the increase in the water level and subsequent receding of water. In spite of the bunding over river Adhiya river, water spread very fast because of heavy rains. Now we plan to increase the length of bunding to cover more area," said Shivhare.

He, however, said that as per the initial plan, the road in the Activation Area – where industries are being set up – is higher than the normal surface and has not been submerged, meaning that the original plan is robust. "It means that industries will not be affected. Work on the stormwater line is going on. In areas where waterlogging took place, we will soon start dewatering activities," said Shivhare.