Thousands of commuters stuck at various places, five underpasses shut down and people wading through over one-feet-deep water. Just four hours of heavy downpour on Thursday evening that brought less than two inches of rainfall turned Smart City into a Sinking City. Though the weather remained overall dry till afternoon, heavy rains started lashing the city at 4.30pm. Within four hours, the city had received 43mm rainfall, turning many parts into islands However, while most areas were grappling with heavy waterlogging and roads had turned into a chaotic mess, the civic body was busy approving Rs10 crore for the heritage festival celebrations slated in August. Since most of the city’s roads are bumpy, driving turned into a nightmare due to fear of open drains. Also, underpasses constructed to ease traffic movement were forced to close down as water levels had risen. Five underpasses - Akhbarnagar, Mithakhali, Parimal, Kubernagar and Usmanpura - were closed for the traffic movement in the evening. Adding to the jams were five trees that got uprooted at various places including Vasna near Maniratnam Society, near Memnagar fire station, Giridharnagar Road, Vardan Society Tower, near Stadium Crossroads and near Madalpur bus stand. The nightmarish evening also brought out the best in many Amdavadis and several youths were seen helping people push cars, or fix vehicles, and manage traffic. Till 8pm, the city received a total of 51.59mm rainfall. The east zone received 12.67mm, west zone 71.13mm, new west zone 53mm, central zone 62.75mm, north zone 59.33mm and south zone 16.75mm. Minister meet AMC team Revenue minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama and Home minister Pradipsinh Jadeja visited AMC control room on Thursday at night. “We have reviewed the situation and we are happy with the way civic officials are working. For the next two days, there is prediction of heavy to very heavy rain. As a precaution we have asked for two teams of NDRF for the city,” Chudasama said. The ministers had a two-hour meeting with AMC officials, including, mayor, commissioner and standing committee chairman.

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