Fast-growing areas sink faster, thanks to poor infrastructure

Thousands living in peripheral and rapidly developing areas like Undera, Bhayli, Kalali and Bill continue to reel under severe problems as many are either still waterlogged or cut-off as neither VMC nor Vadodara Urban Development Authority (VUDA) has done enough.
For the fourth straight day, Undera continued to remain cut-off from the city as the pond there had overflowed following heavy rains on July 31. Undera, Koyali and some parts of Bajwa and Karodiya were cut-off with Panchvati and Gorwa. Residents had to live without electricity, food and water.
Srushti Patel, a class XII (science stream) student said, “There is no water around my house, but the main road at Undera cannot be crossed. I hope the water there recedes quickly as this is a crucial year for me and I cannot miss more classes,” Patel said.
Similar condition persists on the western side of the city. Residents of Bill and Kalali, which are seeing rapid urbanization, have to wade through flood waters to get their daily essentials. Although, chief minister Vijay Rupani has twice announced that Kalali is now in VMC’s jurisdiction, residents here have still not got any support from the civic body.
As the VUDA has made no provisions to lay drainage lines in these areas, the heavy rains pounded last week have turned residential societies into islands of gutter water. “We are staring at outbreak of diseases as the water has been stagnant for all these days and now it has started to stink. Many senior citizens and children have already fallen sick and are admitted in hospital,” said Rahul Patel, a government school teacher living in Bill.
Residents said that it may seem easy to cross the inundated roads on bikes, but the situation is different.
District administration has announced schools and colleges will reopen on Monday, but residents have no clue how their children will go out.
The plight of residents of what was being termed as outgrown areas has been highlighted time and again. These areas do not have basic infrastructure be it roads, streetlights, drainage networks, potable water connections and garbage disposal system. Despite the real estate development that these areas have witnessed in last couple of years, residents here have to take bumpy rides on ‘kutcha’ roads.