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Construction of Parimal rly underpass leaves a 10-foot strip for residents. With vendors and a builder blocking their access to this narrow stretch, people raise voice for connectivity
By Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Monday, July 12, 2010 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=2010071220100712025016790dcfdca18)
The area around the under-construction Parimal underpass woke up to sloganeering on Sunday morning. People, living on the side connecting Doctor House to Karnavati Pagarkha Bazaar, had come out on to the streets. Work on the railway underpass had made their life hell. Their walls and balconies had developed cracks. Sludge on the road had led to accidents. To make matters worse, residents now found that the service road linking them to Mahalaxmi Crossroads would soon be closed.
Several petitions to Ravi Builders, in charge of the construction, and the AMC went ignored. Finally, on Sunday, over 100 residents of Janki, Hari Darshan, Tulsi and Avadh apartments decided to take matters into their hands. They caught hold of the site supervisor and forced him to call the builder to the site. They also spoke to Deputy City Engineer S K Shah.
Residents fear heavy rains will cause buildings to slide into the deep hole. Builder says he has double shot-creted the walls to prevent mishap
Road to hell
Resident Manisha Shah said, “Our service road passed through a builder’s plot. He has begun construction on the land and will close the road soon. What will we do then?”
Resident Jigisha Shah says, “The service road we use right now is narrow and unlevelled. Tractors carrying soil to the construction site use this road.
When it rains, the road is covered with sludge. I fell off my two-wheeler couple of days ago. Thankfully, I did not slide right into the pit or I would have died instantaneously. The vegetable vendors and laundrywallahs refuse to come here.”
Resident of Janki Apartment Dr Nidhi Wadhwa says, “The Corporation has ensured that the stretch from Parimal Crossroads to Doctor House has all the amenities. But they have ignored the stretch connecting 300 residents to Mahalaxmi Crossroads. We cannot drive a two-wheeler directly to Parimal Road. A chaiwala at that end of the service road means we have to ask his customers to make way for us every time we walk past. Near the Mahalaxmi side, we have the vendors of the shoe bazaar blocking our road. They even tease our girls.”
Shital Shah, secretary of Tulsi Duplex, says, “Rickshawallahs refuse to come this way due to the bad state of roads. Senior citizens who do not own vehicles are forced to walk more than 1.5 km to get an auto. Then there is the chappal market. In the evenings, their customers park the vehicles in a haphazardous manner, cutting us off from our houses.”
Monsoon trouble
Hiren Shah says, ‘We have filed an RTI for details about the shoe bazaar. We tried to call Mayor Kanaji Thakor but he was unreachable.”
Listing other problems they face, Hiren says: “Construction of the underpass began two and a half years ago. Houses around the site developed cracks after digging work caused the soil to shift. To secure the soil, the builder inserted iron rods. These were so long, its other end poked through people’s basements. High-voltage wires lie along the road. The wires are exposed and its monsoon time. Anyone of us can die of electrocution, landslide or building collapse here. To compound matters, there’s no light on the streets. One can easily fall in the ditch and no one would be wiser till its dawn.”
He adds, “We have also found out that a soil test carried out before construction revealed that it contained too much sand. This means the soil is unstable. We dread that our houses will slide right into the 250-foot gaping pit just 10 feet away if there is heavy rain.”
The service road leading to Doctor House is blocked by a chaiwallah (left), the Mahalaxmi end is obstructed by shoe vendors and their customers
Cementing the pit
When Mirror called Naimesh Shah of Ravi Builders, he said, “We were using a road that passed through a private plot. Now that construction has begun there, we will lay a new road for residents in 3-4 days. They spoke to me about the problem last Friday. No one approached me before that.”
About the soil test, he said, “The soil in Ahmedabad contains sand. Taking the residents’ concern into account, we have shot-creted (apply concrete through high-powered nozzle) two layers of 50 mm on the walls of the pit. This is temporary. We will create a concrete wall to prevent landslides.”
Landslides must be of worry to the builders as five labourers who were working at the underpass were buried alive when the earth caved in on November 20 last year. This happened a month after the residents sent written complaints to the authorities regarding the damage caused by the shifting soil to their houses.
Cable wires hang over trees and prevent people from walking freely on the service road. Cable wires lying along the road give rise to fear of electrocution
Cracks on walls
Meanwhile, city engineer R P Mahida said, “We had marked a service road through a private builder’s plot but it will be closed now. We will lay another road for the residents.”
He denied allegations that cracks in the walls appeared due to the construction work. “Iron rods had pierced two houses. But we shortened its length to prevent this. The cracks on walls and in balconies, however, did not occur due to shifting soil. It must be due to some other reason.”
Residents of Avadh apartment, however, refuse to accept this explanation. “Our apartments were built 20 years ago. It developed cracks soon after construction work began,” they averred. They have decided to grant the officials a week to take action on their complaint. Said Hiren Shah, “If our demand is not met, we will intensify our protest. We won’t let the AMC ignore us.”
By Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Monday, July 12, 2010 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=2010071220100712025016790dcfdca18)
The area around the under-construction Parimal underpass woke up to sloganeering on Sunday morning. People, living on the side connecting Doctor House to Karnavati Pagarkha Bazaar, had come out on to the streets. Work on the railway underpass had made their life hell. Their walls and balconies had developed cracks. Sludge on the road had led to accidents. To make matters worse, residents now found that the service road linking them to Mahalaxmi Crossroads would soon be closed.
Several petitions to Ravi Builders, in charge of the construction, and the AMC went ignored. Finally, on Sunday, over 100 residents of Janki, Hari Darshan, Tulsi and Avadh apartments decided to take matters into their hands. They caught hold of the site supervisor and forced him to call the builder to the site. They also spoke to Deputy City Engineer S K Shah.
Residents fear heavy rains will cause buildings to slide into the deep hole. Builder says he has double shot-creted the walls to prevent mishap
Road to hell
Resident Manisha Shah said, “Our service road passed through a builder’s plot. He has begun construction on the land and will close the road soon. What will we do then?”
Resident Jigisha Shah says, “The service road we use right now is narrow and unlevelled. Tractors carrying soil to the construction site use this road.
When it rains, the road is covered with sludge. I fell off my two-wheeler couple of days ago. Thankfully, I did not slide right into the pit or I would have died instantaneously. The vegetable vendors and laundrywallahs refuse to come here.”
Resident of Janki Apartment Dr Nidhi Wadhwa says, “The Corporation has ensured that the stretch from Parimal Crossroads to Doctor House has all the amenities. But they have ignored the stretch connecting 300 residents to Mahalaxmi Crossroads. We cannot drive a two-wheeler directly to Parimal Road. A chaiwala at that end of the service road means we have to ask his customers to make way for us every time we walk past. Near the Mahalaxmi side, we have the vendors of the shoe bazaar blocking our road. They even tease our girls.”
Shital Shah, secretary of Tulsi Duplex, says, “Rickshawallahs refuse to come this way due to the bad state of roads. Senior citizens who do not own vehicles are forced to walk more than 1.5 km to get an auto. Then there is the chappal market. In the evenings, their customers park the vehicles in a haphazardous manner, cutting us off from our houses.”
Monsoon trouble
Hiren Shah says, ‘We have filed an RTI for details about the shoe bazaar. We tried to call Mayor Kanaji Thakor but he was unreachable.”
Listing other problems they face, Hiren says: “Construction of the underpass began two and a half years ago. Houses around the site developed cracks after digging work caused the soil to shift. To secure the soil, the builder inserted iron rods. These were so long, its other end poked through people’s basements. High-voltage wires lie along the road. The wires are exposed and its monsoon time. Anyone of us can die of electrocution, landslide or building collapse here. To compound matters, there’s no light on the streets. One can easily fall in the ditch and no one would be wiser till its dawn.”
He adds, “We have also found out that a soil test carried out before construction revealed that it contained too much sand. This means the soil is unstable. We dread that our houses will slide right into the 250-foot gaping pit just 10 feet away if there is heavy rain.”
The service road leading to Doctor House is blocked by a chaiwallah (left), the Mahalaxmi end is obstructed by shoe vendors and their customers
Cementing the pit
When Mirror called Naimesh Shah of Ravi Builders, he said, “We were using a road that passed through a private plot. Now that construction has begun there, we will lay a new road for residents in 3-4 days. They spoke to me about the problem last Friday. No one approached me before that.”
About the soil test, he said, “The soil in Ahmedabad contains sand. Taking the residents’ concern into account, we have shot-creted (apply concrete through high-powered nozzle) two layers of 50 mm on the walls of the pit. This is temporary. We will create a concrete wall to prevent landslides.”
Landslides must be of worry to the builders as five labourers who were working at the underpass were buried alive when the earth caved in on November 20 last year. This happened a month after the residents sent written complaints to the authorities regarding the damage caused by the shifting soil to their houses.
Cable wires hang over trees and prevent people from walking freely on the service road. Cable wires lying along the road give rise to fear of electrocution
Cracks on walls
Meanwhile, city engineer R P Mahida said, “We had marked a service road through a private builder’s plot but it will be closed now. We will lay another road for the residents.”
He denied allegations that cracks in the walls appeared due to the construction work. “Iron rods had pierced two houses. But we shortened its length to prevent this. The cracks on walls and in balconies, however, did not occur due to shifting soil. It must be due to some other reason.”
Residents of Avadh apartment, however, refuse to accept this explanation. “Our apartments were built 20 years ago. It developed cracks soon after construction work began,” they averred. They have decided to grant the officials a week to take action on their complaint. Said Hiren Shah, “If our demand is not met, we will intensify our protest. We won’t let the AMC ignore us.”
