Bodakdev observes bandh to protest proposed flyover

AHMEDABAD: Establishments from roadside tea stalls to major shopping centres and restaurants on Judges bungalow crossroads near SG road shut shop on Wednesday to protest the alignment of a new proposed flyover between along judges bungalow road towards Sindhubhavan marg. This new flyover was one of nine proposed in the current budget by the standing committee of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC).
Around 250 people took to the streets in the late morning and sat on a daylong dharna at judges bunglow crossroads. The protesters questioned the feasibility of a flyover on a four-lane road and the fact that the flyover would lead to further congestion and narrowing of the road on that stretch.
They pointed out that the majority of Bodakdev crossroads traffic turns towards ISCON circle or towards Gandhinagar and just 10-15 per cent of vehicles head towards Sindhubhavan. Residents also pointed to the proximity of a 64,000 KV high tension line near SG highway which will pass very close to the flyover once it is built.
"The flyover should be aligned with SG highway which takes both highway traffic and city traffic. This flyover is illogical and waste of public money. We request the AMC general board to strike down this proposal in the budget meeting. Residential colonies located along the road stretch will lose their privacy as the flyover will be close to their balconies. The proximity the high tension line too has not been considered. Further parking issues on the road will worsen as there will be just a single lane for traffic because of commercial complexes and a school nearby," says Bodakdev Nagrik Sangharsh Samiti (BNSS) member Deven Verma. The association will submit a memorandum to standing committee chairman Bhupendra Patel and mayor Asit Vora on Saturday.
However, AMC commissioner Guruprasad Mohapatra claims that an elaborate study by the Indian Road Congress (IRC) is presently underway in the city for 45 major traffic junctions where flyovers may be needed in the future. Mohapatra assured that each of the 45 junctions studied by the IRC will be reviewed by AMC. "The flyovers proposed by the standing committee are just proposals. They are not final. It will be too early for us to decide on the flyover at Judges bungalow - Sindhubhavan road. We will wait for IRC to finish their study," says Mohapatra.