VMC to seek help from Centre, Guj govt for river front proj

The Vadodara Municipal Corporation will seek financial assistance from the Centre and the Gujarat Government for the implementation of its Rs 1,500 crore Vishwamitri River Front Project in the city.
A masterplan for the project was presented before state Finance and Tourism Minister Saurabh Patel at a meeting held in Gandhinagar yesterday.
"The project was reviewed at the meeting," Patel told PTI today over phone.
"The VMC has prepared a masterplan for the Rs 1,500 crore Vishwamitri River Front Project which is to be implemented in five years. We would seek funds for it from the central and the state governments," VMC Commissioner Manish Bhardwaj said today after returning from the meeting.

About 25 km stretch of the 70 km-long Vishwamitri river passes through the middle of Vadodara city. The river front project has been planned over a 17-km stretch.
"Gardens, walkway, children's area, jogging track, hydraulic gates for storage of water throughout the year, rehabilitation of slums, commercial activities, among others are part of masterplan. Diversion of surplus water of Vishwamitri to Dhadhar river is another component to avoid danger of flood during monsoon," said Bhardwaj.

The re-sectioning of the Vishwamitri river passing through the city is also to be taken up for ensuring that it does not flood various localities, he said.

Notably, many areas of the city were flooded after heavy rains during monsoons earlier this year.
IIT, Delhi and Hyderabad-based National Institute of Hydrology will be consulted to prevent flooding of the city again, the municipal commissioner said.
Various obstructions and encroachments in three slum areas along the river were removed earlier this month for implementation of the river front project, he said.
"A crocodile park will come up in Kalyan Nagar area on the bank of the river from where the slum encroachments were removed," he said.
As a part of flood mitigation, integrating the river with ponds will also be taken up, he added.