Maninagar crater to swallow a whopping Rs 25 lakh

The huge crater near the Pushpakunj circle in Maninagar, which has caused traffic woes and raised safety concerns among residents, is all set to cause a massive dent in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC)'s pockets - of Rs25 lakh.

The AMC's standing committee sanctioned the work of repairing the leakage in the drainage line that caused the crater, and of subsequently surfacing the road, on Thursday.

AMC officials have estimated the expenditure on the work to come to around Rs25 lakh. The AMC has roped in experts to supervise the work and to find out any other possible leakages in the drainage lines, to avoid further damage.

"Experts from Hyderabad will insert CCTV cameras into the drainage lines close by, to check for damage. This technology will also help us inspect other drainage lines," said chairman of the AMC's standing committee, Asit Vora.

In the standing committee, the work to bring in the Kankaria lake's second toy train was also sanctioned. According to one estimate, the mini train, likely to be named Swarnim Gujarat Express, will reach Ahmedabad from the UK by September. The train will cost the civic body around Rs3.5 crore.

The first mini train of the Kankaria lake has earned the civic body Rs2.31 crore, while around 71 lakh people have visited the Kankaria lake. Meanwhile, more city roads developed craters even as the rain god blessed Amdavad on Thursday evening.

The city recorded a total rainfall of 137.57 mm on Thursday. Three more craters - in Odhav, on the Sola-Science city road, and in Bhairavnath, were registered in the city. The rains also caused one more tree to fall in the city.