Encroachment on rivulets, lakes causing flooding: Study

Surat: A study report on recent floods by citizens highlighted how encroachment on rivulets and lakes led to the flooding. Details of the study report shared on Tuesday raised major concerns about the preparedness of the city civic body.
The report has been prepared by architect Sugeet Pathakji and environment activist Krushnakant Chauhan for People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL).
One of the major questions raised about the monsoon preparedness programme of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) was the use of comparable data about water levels in rivulets of 2013 and older. "In its disaster management and preparedness plan, SMC uses almost 11-year-old data of water levels in rivulets while planning in 2024. When we know that for the past few years we are witnessing regular floods in some areas, they should have used recent water level figures," said Chauhan.
The team claims that water logging on New VIP Road is the result of encroachment on a rivulet going through a university campus. "In the 2011 image, it is visible that a small rivulet crosses through the campus of the university, but now it has disappeared. Due to this encroachment of the rivulet, now we see water logging on New VIP Road often," said Chauhan.
The study also identifies how lakes have disappeared or become small at a few locations. "In Mota Varachha, the images show that a lake has disappeared near Savjibhai Korat Bridge on river Tapi. In some parts, the lake became small due to encroachment," said Pathakji.
The study primarily focuses on seven town planning schemes of the city that include a large portion of flood-affected regions. In the study, the team compared the condition of rivulets in 2011 and now based on Google images. It shows how the rivulets were wider than and in current images how encroachment is done.
"In old images, we can see the rivulet was wide near Saraswati Hindi Vidhyalay, but in the latest images, the rivulet is narrow. This is causing flooding in Saraswati Vidhyalay every year now. Recently, children had to be rescued," said Pathakji.
Highlighting another issue, the team claimed that a rivulet near Punagam Road to Kalapur and Sitanagar Cross Road has been buried completely and a road has been developed on it. "The rivulet played a key role in carrying water during heavy rain. But since the road has been developed, it leads to water logging in surrounding areas," said Chauhan.