Ahmedabad: Chief minister Bhupendra Patel on Friday visited the Bopal, Ambli and Ghuma areas of the city to assess the waterlogging caused by the torrential downpour.Wading through knee-deep water, Patel spoke to officials about efforts to clear the locality of waterlogging and interacted with locals even as water flooded the ground floors of homes.An official statement said Patel asked officials to speed up relief and rescue operations and arrange the manpower, equipment and other support needed.The chief minister then met officials, including the city police commissioner, municipal commissioner, state relief commissioner and mayor, at the AMC’s north-west zone office.Sources said the CM directed the administration to take immediate steps to clear the affected areas and restore normalcy soon.Rushikesh Patel, minister in charge of Ahmedabad, directed AMC officials to clear the waterlogging at the earliest. “Waterlogging has taken much longer to recede in parts of western Ahmedabad. Pumps have been pressed into service, and we expect the water to recede in all areas by 6pm today (Friday),” he said.The minister said the state govt had been working with the AMC on stormwater drainage projects, and that the western trunk line project — already sanctioned — would help contain waterlogging in most parts of Ahmedabad.The trunk line drainage project will use micro-tunnelling technology and is expected to benefit more than 15 lakh people in western Ahmedabad.
