30-inch rainfall but no waterlogging: Shah’s target for flood-plagued areas of Ahmedabad

"Before I come to ask for your vote again, there will be such arrangements that water will not enter your homes even if there is 30 inches of rainfall." This is what Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah said at least three times in his 12-minute speech addressing the people of Bopal, Ambli, Ghuma and Sarkhej — localities in Ahmedabad — on Thursday.

Shah was speaking at a Lok Darbar (townhall) event organised in a part of Ahmedabad that falls in his Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency and saw massive flooding in the last week of July. These areas are also right in the middle of Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel's Assembly constituency of Ghatlodia.

Nearby is Ahmedabad Mayor Hitesh Barot's Thaltej ward. Shah said, "I was advised to hold this Lok Darbar in the Ghatlodia area. They advised me to do so because there was so much waterlogging in Bopal, Ambli and Ghuma. I thank you for not criticising me, but I've come here for this purpose alone.

We may say that it happened because there was 21-22 inch rainfall, something that hasn't happened in the last 50 years, but all the arrangements made by the administration fell short. I just want to say one thing. Before I come to ask for your vote again, there will be such arrangements that water will not enter your homes even if there is 30 inches of rainfall." The event’s entry was tightly controlled by the BJP, with passes given to chairpersons and secretaries of societies in Bopal, Ambli and Ghuma.

Only three of the nine speakers raised the issue of the flooding that saw multiple teams of firefighters, NDRF and police being deployed to rescue and aid people during the harrowing week of rainfall. A society representative, Bhadresh Bhatt, said, "Waterlogging is the main issue.

There was intense rainfall in July, and the water could not be cleared. As we common people understand it, it was due to the lack of drainage pipeline, and too much development in the area. Our suggestion is that the chairman and secretary of societies must be involved in planning to set up the pipeline network and pumping stations." Kunjan Soni of Vibhusha Bungalows in Ghuma said, "There was a lot of waterlogging.

But another issue is that the Narmada water we get is not enough to meet the demand of the population. Drainage lines are also backed up. And more stormwater lines are required." In response to these questions, Shah, speaking to the packed mandap, said, "The planning for this began the very next day after the waters receded, and the responsibility to make sure this planning reaches its logical end will not be of the councillors, or the mayor, or the MLA, but mine alone.

I've been your representative for the last 30 years, and you have never reduced my votes, only increased them. Whenever the ballots of this area are opened, the Congress doesn't get anything; it is always ‘kamal’ (lotus)…" Amit Shah also reiterated the reasons given by CM Patel and Mayor Barot that the waterlogging had been the unfortunate result of excess rainfall.

He said, "We are all sad about the waterlogging that happened here. But we must accept that the rainfall this year was more than what we could imagine. But now it is clear that it can rain more than 21 inches, so we will now make arrangements for 30 inches.

Then, if it rains more than that, we will again have to augment the systems." Regarding the Narmada water pipelines to societies in the areas that were recently merged into the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), Shah said the Narmada water would reach these areas in the next six months.

Shah reminisced that when he was an MLA, the issues were those of safety and security, which had been successfully addressed. "Those living here since 1997 remember what happened in 1999 and 2002," he said. Shah added, "I thought you all might be very angry…So I tell you that before I come to ask for your vote again, I'll get the work done to make sure you don't face problems from even 30 inches of rainfall." AMC Deputy Mayor Anju Shah, Municipal Commissioner Bancha Nidhi Pani and Commissioner of Police Anupam Singh Gahlaut were also in attendance Brendan Dabhi works with The Indian Express, focusing his comprehensive reporting primarily on Gujarat.

He covers the region's most critical social, legal, and administrative sectors, notably specializing at the intersection of health, social justice, and disasters. Expertise Health and Public Policy: He has deep expertise in healthcare issues, including rare diseases, Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), the complex logistics of organ transplants, and public health challenges like drug-resistant TB and heat health surveillance.

His on-ground reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic and Mucormycosis was critical in exposing healthcare challenges faced by marginalized communities in Gujarat. Social Justice and Legal Administration: He reports on the functioning of the legal and police system, including the impact of judicial philosophy, forensics and crucial administrative reforms (.

He covers major surveillance and crackdown exercises by the Gujarat police and security on the international border. Disaster and Crisis Management: His work closely tracks how government and civic bodies respond to large-scale crises, providing essential coverage on the human and administrative fallout of disasters including cyclones, floods, conflict, major fires and reported extensively on the AI 171 crash in Ahmedabad.

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