Hope Ahmedabad Is Planning For Growth. Like Bangalore, We Wouldn’t Want To Get Crushed Under The Weight Of Robust Development

Throughout human history, civilisations have grown and flourished along rivers. They have been the lifeline and elixir of existence. They have cut across class divides to give a city its identity and history.

Sabarmati too defines Ahmedabad. It cuts across the heart of the city. But the story of Sabarmati is an unfortunate one. Ahmedabad has turned its back on the river that helped it evolve. Surely this river deserved a better fate. Sabarmati once flowed bank to bank. It was referred to as ‘Shvabhramati’ in the Puranas —‘Shvabhra’ meaning ‘craters’. The river brimmed with water, until human interference reduced it to a mere trickle in the 1970s. The Dharoi dam was constructed on it.

Since then, the river remained parched for the better part of the year and began to serve as a massive sewer for draining out industrial waste, as also for the 36 storm water outfalls of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation that opened into it. Soon, slums and a dhobi ghat sprung up along its banks.

In 2002, the government finally decided to resuscitate the dry river by channelling Narmada waters across a distance of 200 km through a network of canals from the Sardar Sarovar dam. Since then, Sabarmati has survived on borrowed waters.

After abusing the river for years, the first attempt to bring the people of the city closer to their heritage was with the help of Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project.

The ambitious project involves creating embankments on both sides and developing a 10.5 km stretch along each of the banks — from Subhash Bridge to Vasna Barrage.

The project is poised to resuscitate the river’s decadent image and restore people’s pride in the Sabarmati. The project was first mooted by Bernard Kohn, a French architect in Ahmedabad during the early 1960s, along with other city planners. They visualised the development of the Sabarmati riverfront with a mix of commercial, recreational and residential structures from Gandhi Bridge to Sardar Bridge.

After various modifications, the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Limited (SRDCL) was set up in 1997 to execute the plan. However, the project was kicked off only last year. The makeover required reclamation of about 30 hectares of land, a part of which was to be sold or leased for commercial development. The proposal aims at selffinance. “Our projections show that the project would be completed by 2008, at a proposed expenditure of Rs 1,060 crore,” says a senior officer of SRDCL.

There are, however, sharp deviations from Kohn’s original proposal. The new plan emphasises road network. A six-lane wide road, the ‘East River Drive’, has been proposed along the eastern bank, while a four- lane stretch, ‘West River Drive’, will come up on the other bank, apart from developing the riverfront as a public space for Amdavadis.