Little rain, lot of damage: Ahmedabad’s monsoon woes surface again

Ahmedabad: Even as Ahmedabad witnessed only intermittent spells of rain over the past two days, the showers were enough to expose the city’s fragile infrastructure, triggering road cave-ins, waterlogging, fallen trees and dozens of pothole complaints across several areas.The heaviest rainfall was recorded on Sunday evening, when western parts of the city, including Sarkhej, Maktampura and Bopal, received intense showers. Between 6pm and 10pm, Sarkhej alone recorded 103.5 mm (4.07 inches) of rainfall, inundating several low-lying areas and disrupting traffic.The rain also left a trail of civic damage. According to Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) data, the four-hour spell on Sunday resulted in 12 complaints of fallen trees, seven incidents of waterlogging, two cases of road settlement, two structural breakdowns and three safety notices being issued for dangerous buildings.The civic body also received 68 complaints of potholes across the city, with the highest number reported from the East Zone (21), followed by the West Zone (18), North West Zone (12), North Zone (10), South West Zone (4) and South Zone (3). Repair work was initiated at the affected locations.The impact of the rain continued to surface on Monday morning. A road near Aryaman Bungalows in Shilaj caved in and had to be barricaded to prevent accidents.

Another road settlement occurred near Prasang Party Plot in Gota, while a school bus got stuck after a road caved in at Shela. Similar complaints of road settlement were also reported from Sarkhej and nearby areas, raising concerns over the quality of road infrastructure.Fresh spells of rain returned on Monday evening, with the city receiving an average of 5.63 mm rainfall between 6pm and 7pm. Bakrol recorded the highest rainfall at 25mm during the hour, followed by Navrangpura (19mm), Vasna (13.5mm), Sarkhej (12mm), Paldi (10mm) and Memnagar (8.5mm).

Even this brief spell led to two complaints of fallen trees and one incident of waterlogging.Till 8 pm on Monday, the city had received an average of 6mm rainfall.According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Ahmedabad was likely to witness a couple of spells of rain over the next few days under generally cloudy skies.With more rain forecast this week, civic authorities are expected to remain on alert as recurring incidents of road cave-ins, potholes and waterlogging continue to raise questions over the city’s monsoon preparedness.Box: Monsoon progressDespite the widespread rain, the southwest monsoon’s advance remained stalled at Jamnagar on Monday, leaving parts of Kutch and north Gujarat still awaiting full monsoon coverage.The IMD has sounded an alert for Tuesday, forecasting extremely heavy rainfall in parts of Surat, Tapi, Dang, Navsari, Valsad and Bhavnagar districts. Heavy to very heavy rain is also likely in Narmada, Bharuch and Amreli, while most other regions are expected to receive moderate to heavy showers.The intensity of rainfall is expected to ease from Wednesday onwards. By Friday, the likelihood of heavy rain over Ahmedabad is expected to reduce significantly. So far this monsoon season, Gujarat has received 17% of its seasonal rainfall.