Ahmedabad, May 14 (IANS) The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has completed the first phase of its pre-monsoon preparedness exercise by cleaning more than 64,000 catchpits across the city, as part of efforts to reduce waterlogging and ensure faster drainage during the upcoming monsoon season.
The civic body said extensive cleaning and monitoring work of catchpits and storm water manholes has been undertaken in all zones under its pre-monsoon action plan to strengthen the city’s drainage network before the onset of heavy rain.
According to AMC, Ahmedabad earlier had 66,580 operational catchpits. During the recent period, another 6,006 catchpits were constructed, taking the total number across the city to 72,586.
Zone-wise data released by the corporation showed that the West Zone has the highest number of catchpits at 15,777, followed by the North West Zone with 13,791.
The North Zone has 9,891 catchpits, East Zone 9,461, South Zone 9,093, South West Zone 7,601 and Central Zone has 6,972 of them.
In the first round of the drive, AMC completed cleaning work of 64,013 catchpits.
Of these, 13,131 catchpits were cleaned in the West Zone, 11,032 in the North West Zone, 9,536 in the North Zone, 8,990 in the East Zone, 7,534 in the South Zone, 7,529 in the South West Zone and 6,261 in the Central Zone.
“Regular monitoring and preventive maintenance are being prioritised to ensure that the flow of rainwater is not obstructed and that the storm water drainage system remains efficient,” the AMC stated.
The corporation has also launched a special campaign for storm water manholes.
AMC said the city earlier had 24,004 operational storm water manholes, while 2,681 new manholes have recently been added, increasing the total number to 26,685.
The North West Zone accounts for the highest number of storm water manholes at 7,465, followed by the East Zone with 4,731.
The South West Zone has 3,732 manholes, the West Zone 3,267, the South Zone 2,847, the North Zone has 2,761 and the Central Zone 1,882.
AMC said all engineering departments, storm water teams and field staff would remain active across zones during the monsoon season to address waterlogging complaints and maintain drainage operations.
“To minimise waterlogging issues during the monsoon and ensure quick drainage of rainwater, continuous monitoring, pre-monsoon checking and special planning for rapid on-site response have also been arranged,” the corporation said.
–IANS
mys/rad