Civic polls round-up: Urban flooding woes await new councillors in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad: As more than 38 lakh citizens prepare to elect 192 new corporators in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation election, the incoming councillors will inherit a worsening urban flood crisis that has defied costly interventions.Waterlogging has emerged as the city's most pressing civic issue. Despite expenditure running into hundreds of crores, more than 140 spots across the city's 480 sqkm area continue to flood during the monsoon, overwhelming a 1,010-km stormwater network supported by 35 pumping stations. Last year, five people died in rain-related incidents. In June, a patient in Kathwada died after an ambulance could not reach him through flooded roads. A young man drowned in a water-filled pit in Odhav. A resident in Dariapur was electrocuted by an exposed streetlight wire. In Sep, a couple in Narol's Mutton Gali died from electrocution caused by waterlogging. The AMC identified 125 waterlogging spots before the 2024 monsoon, but the actual count rose to 147 during the season. Surveys revealed that more than 10 spots take more than five hours to drain, with chronic flooding in western areas such as Bopal, Ghuma, Gota and Bodakdev, and eastern pockets including Naroda, Saraspur-Rakhial and Bapunagar. Eleven spots recorded water levels exceeding two feet including Ekta Nagar in Danilimda and Madhumalti Apartments in Nikol; Hirabag in Paldi recorded three feet of water. In the last week of Aug 2024, 10 inches of rain led to waterlogging at over 300 locations. While most cleared within an hour, 147 spots remained submerged for longer, and 10 areas stayed flooded for up to four days. Heading into 2025, the AMC retained all 147 spots on its watch list, spread across seven zones — 39 in the East, 32 in the Northwest, 24 in the North, 22 in the West, 15 in the South, eight in the Central Zone and seven in the Southwest. Yet unseasonal rain on May 7, 2025, still caused flooding in several areas, underscoring the gap between spending and results. The corporation's water and sewerage committee has since approved 36 projects worth Rs 841.45 crore, of which 29 projects costing Rs 644.34 crore are in progress and six worth Rs 42.11 crore await clearance. A separate tender for Rs 155 crore has also been floated. As of Feb 2026, 48 stormwater network projects totalling Rs 1,080 crore are underway, a massive outlay whose results the newly elected corporators will be judged on.