Row over emptying renovated Sursagar

Vadodara: From raising a stink and controversy over it being emptied to facilitate work, a controversy has now emerged over the unexpectedly high quantity of water filled in the renovated Sursagar. The water had submerged the walkway along the periphery of the pond and is being emptied to ensure there is sufficient space for any more inflow of water.
But officials of Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) said that a major issue was that an outlet of the pond that used to carry excess water towards a storm water drain in the Lakdipul area was not functioning. Sources said that attempts were being made to fix this system so that water could be drained out of the pond whenever needed. In the meantime, a pump is being used to empty the pond.
Located in the heart of the city, Sursagar has been mired in a controversy ever since work began on the historical water body.
Environment activists had expressed concern over inlets of water into the pond and feared that these may not be functioning properly. Also, emptying the pond and then refilling it to some extent for its inauguration in February had raised eyebrows.
But quite contrary to the fears, it has come to light that Sursagar got filled faster this year despite the claims of an increased capacity.
It was claimed that after desilting, the pond’s capacity had increased despite its surface area reducing. But even this did not prove sufficient this monsoon, despite the city still not having reached its average rainfall figure.
Sources said that a major reason for the pond overflowing was that it was receiving a large amount of water from the M G Road and Laheripura Gate side as compared to previous years. It is believed that some blockage in the storm water drain that used to carry water towards Mangalbazaar may have been the reason for this water flowing towards the pond.
“Also, new storm water drains were laid around the pond. This ensured all water flowed into the pond unlike previous years when a lot of water flowed away from it on the road towards Dandiabazaar,” said a VMC official.