Ahmedabad Discussions

[desiguy66]

Originally Posted by SimplyGujju

Hyperlink is not pointed to the target article... Please update/edit/repost...

thanks for the heads up. link should now work

[GJ10]

Zydus Cadila gets nod for 22 Storey Hospital at Thaltej

Ahmedabad is getting its second tallest building but it is neither a hotel nor a residential scheme. It is a multi-speciality hospital.

The Ahmedabad-based, Rs3,000 crore pharmaceutical company, promoted by Pankaj Patel, Zydus Cadila, has received approval from the state government to develop a 22-storey hospital near Thaltej.

Zydus Cadila got permission for the high-rise building in R2 zone in Ahmedabad from the urban development department. The project falls in survey 509 and 511 in the town planning scheme number 51. It is located near SG Highway, close to Thaltej.

Industry sources said that this was a revolutionary step because it was an indication that in future the R2 zone may get converted to R1 zone. This means that construction of high-rise residential schemes can be expected in this region which will keep property prices under control, compared to what is offered in R2 zone.

As per the law, construction in R2 zone is allowed only up to four floors, whereas in R1 zone developers can construct a high-rise building. This means more utilisation of space which will make the scheme cheaper.

After it is completed, the hospital will be the second tallest building in the city after Patang hotel on Ashram Road, which is a landmark in western Ahmedabad.

Urban development minister Nitin Patel said: “Yes, Cadila have got permission for the high-rise building in R2 zone. However, the company has paid for the extra FSI.”

Patel refused to give more details about the project. A Zydus Cadila spokesperson also refused to comment on the
development.

[GJ10]

Slum-Free Ahmedabad dream now Realty

The Gujarat government’s public-private-partnership (PPP) model for developing housing for the urban poor has already taken off in Ahmedabad. A day after the proposal was announced by urban development minister Nitin Patel, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) started work on two pending proposals, one from the Bakeri group and another from the Mumbai-based Akruti City.

While Bakeri has sent the proposal for Gulbai Tekra and Vadaj slum areas, Akruti City is looking at five other spots in the city. The policy, which makes construction of affordable housing lucrative for builders, may well change the face of Gujarat. Under the PPP model, builders can acquire government land occupied by slums and build houses for slum-dwellers. The developer may also choose an alternate site for rehabilitating the dwellers. Builders will be allowed a higher FSI for the purpose, which can also be utilised for another piece of land of the same proportion, which will be given to them by the government elsewhere in the state. If everything goes as planned, slum pockets in Ahmedabad — such as those in Amraiwadi, Khokhra, Gulbai Tekra and Ramapir Na Tekra — may soon be transformed into decent residential localities.

In fact, Akruti and Bakeri had earlier approached the AMC with the proposals, but the lack of proper policy for the transfer of development rights had stalled the projects. Akruti City had proposed to construct around 9,120 tenement units in the five pockets. Each tenement unit was conceived to comprise a living room, bedroom, kitchen, washroom and a balcony.

[Marathaman]

GJ man I'm really starting to envy your state.

[India101]

Only if all states could be a combined Kerala & Gujarat...

[aks_sky]

Something New!

Unhappy with the authorities over unclean roads in the city, lack of reforms in education system, absence of guides at zoos and hospitals? Here’s your chance to troubleshoot and be part of what could even lead to policy changes.

In a boost to e-governance in the state, the government has launched an interactive portal inviting people to contribute to the development of the city.

Called the Samaydan portal (www.ahmedabadcitizenportal.com) it allows individuals to pledge their services primarily in the areas of environment, cleanliness, education and health.

The portal was launched by Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Friday as part of Swarnim Gujarat celebrations. This is the first-of-its-kind portal in the country launched by a government body.

This is something new and innovative from where i look at it but again this is only targeting individuals who have the time and internet to register, not the wider public. But in saying so it is a good step and hopefully people will join and help out.

[shreyas1684]

Originally Posted by GJ10

Slum-Free Ahmedabad dream now Realty

actually they hv started it in vadodara too...

[GJ10]

Vasna to Airport in 15mins

From Ambedkar Bridge in Vasna to Ahmedabad airport in 15 minutes. Not a wishful thinking but very much a reality in a matter of months.

The authorities have cleared the municipal corporation project — a stretch linking northern part of the city to the southern areas — with an aim to reduce traffic congestion and cut down airport travel time. The stretch will run along Sabarmati’s east bank.

Currently, anyone travelling to airport from Paldi, Vasna, Navrangpura, Ambawadi, Manekbaug, Bhattha, Sarkhej and Juhapura have no option
but to go via Ashram Road.

If you are travelling to airport from Vasna, for instance, you first arrive on Ashram Road, and then proceed towards Shahibaugh using either Gandhi Bridge or Subhash Bridge. From then onwards, the journey winds through Dafnala underpass, Shahibaugh, Army Cantonment and finally, airport.

During peak hours, traffic congestion on Ashram Road as well as Dilli Darwaja, Dafnala underpass and Shahibaugh make life hell for the citizens. It takes at least 45 minutes to complete the 11-km journey from Paldi to airport during rush hour.

Once the ‘linking road’ is complete — expected time around six months — Ashram Road will no longer be burdened by airport traffic. The proposed two-way stretch, 30-metre wide, will begin at Ambedkar Bridge and end at Dafnala, no traffic lights to hamper the vehicle flow. At Dafnala, an exit point will lead the vehicles onto the road towards the airport.

Confirming the development, municipal corporation’s standing committee chairman Asit Vora said, “While those living in areas like Judges Bungalows, Satellite and Vastrapur can take the 132-feet ring road to travel to and from the airport, Amdavadis living in the central parts of the city are inconvenienced due to traffic problems on Ashram Road and adjoining areas. This stretch will make the journey to and from airport a pleasing experience for them.”

Vora added the project will be a two-way, four-lane design. He said, “Our study and survey say the Vasna-airport journey will be a 15-minute affair once the stretch is ready.”

Theyve very cleverly decided on using a blue line to mark a road running along the side of the river... but im sure you all get the idea!

[aks_sky]

hopefully it gets started soon.

[GJ10]

Painting it Green

Get ready to walk on some outof-the-world green spaces along the banks of Sabarmati. The mega Sabarmati riverfront project will now have urban green spaces with a difference.

Sabarmati River Front Development Corporation Limited (SRFDCL) has roped in a panel of designers specifically entrusted to come up with innovative designs for envisaged parks and gardens along the riverfront. The project is focusing towards ‘social utility’ of the riverfront by giving more spaces for public use, nearly 42.8 hectares of land for parks and gardens will be used for different recreational functions at the project site.

“The panel of designers will be presenting their ideas and concept designs for gardens planned on the riverfront. They have been chosen through a rigorous exercise,” said AMC municipal commissioner IP Gautam. He added that the panel has been given full artistic freedom for designing varieties of gardens. AMC authorities will assess the designs before going for the final approval.

The civic body has already built a diaphragm wall, walkways and anchor slabs along the riverfront. The retaining wall constructed to protect the embankment is 89 per cent complete while access steps are 50 per cent complete, according to SRFDCL authorities.

“These proposed spaces are expected to serve as city-level green spaces while others will be neighbourhood parks. These gardens will be based on different themes,” said a senior SRFDCL official.

The project aims for environmental improvement, increasing green coverage, recreational spaces, relocation and rehabilitation of slums, commercial hubs and residential areas.

EAST BANK

Dudheshwar Garden Heritage Park Victoria Garden Extension Pirana Forest

WEST BANK

Gandhi Ashram Park BJ Park Extension City Park VS Hospital Park Vasna Forest

STUDY ON CABLE CARS

SRFDCL authorities have invited an expression of interest for cable cars across the riverfront. Municipal Commissioner IP Gautam said, “We are looking for a modernised version of cable cars of international standard for crossing the river. It is mainly for easy accessibility to public utilities and other services on both the banks of the river.” The authorities are doing feasibility study for location of the cable cars on riverfront.

[SimplyGujju]

One ‘More’ retail chain faces closure in Ahmedabad

By Japan K Pathak

Busy activities here at Aditya Birla Group’s retail store ‘More’ in Ahmedabad’s Dharnidhar area. There are already overflowing visitors inside, and therefore the security men are instructing other people to form queue to enter inside. The people are also ready to cooperate. They form queue and wait for their chance to enter the store. The reason is that the store is offering 30 to 50% discount on almost all products because the Aditya Birla Group has taken a decision to wind it up.

Yes, after Subhiksha had to wind up 50 stores in Ahmedabad and Reliance Retail also scaled down its hypermarket on the SG Highway, after 6ten closed its stores and Vishal supermarket had to wind up its huge Law Garden premises, after Dev Status mall was closed to get converted into a luxurious flat scheme, the next is Aditya Birla Group’s ‘More’ stores which are likely to be closed this month.

The CEO of group’s Supermarkets decision Thomas Verghese confirming the plan says the loss-making stores of ‘More’ would be closed in whole country, not only in Gujarat in next some time.

Aditya Birla Retail at its peak, ran 36 stores in Gujarat. However after gradual closure of some loss making stores in recent past, the company had only 10 stores functioning in the state. Out of 16 stores that were launched in Ahmedabad, only five to six are operational presently, and they are likely to be closed this month only.

Back to ground zero at Dharnidhar in Ahmedabad, the customers hit by price rise are happily buying things at discount rates here. Sugar which is otherwise available at a cost of 38 Rs kg is available here at Rs 32. Packed bags of Mung and Cumin are sold at half price. Some buyers are coming from far areas, thanks to BRTS bus-stop nearby. About 50% shelves of this ‘More’ store are now empty. Due to high demand of discounted items here, the group has dumped products from other branches also for speedy sell.

The youths working in this store told Gujaratmoney that this particular branch of ‘More’ was profitable, but as the group decided to wind up whole business in the city, this store too faced closure. They complained that though they offered wide range of different products, most of the people were visiting the store to buy vegetables only. At time, the management felt that their business was actually not about selling just vegetables!

Some other employees briefed GujaratMoney that rental cost, man power cost, AC bill etc was in-total a huge burden. On the other side business was not that lucrative.

When we from GujaratMoney personally visited the store, we felt that the store was not being run with heart and certainly not with mind. Dharnidhar is pure Jain, Baniya and Brahmin dominated area. Here non-veg is a taboo. Not only eating non-veg is unacceptable but even presence of non-veg irritate the locals. You can not find a single non-veg product in about three-four square kilometer of area in this locality. But the ‘More’ store was catering range of non-veg products. I saw Chicken Masalla, Butter Chicken, Chicken Tikka mix etc completely unsalable packs on shelves. Another point is that while traditional stores in Dharnidhar area are smaller, open(so no AC and natural light), controlled by one or two persons(one owner and one servant) and product specific(focused), the ‘More’ store is a closed one(lights and AC bringing heavy bill), employing several people(around 10 to 12) and offering range of products(defocused, some of the products not worth selling and eating dust on shelves).

A common store owner(of course a rival) in Dharnidhar area is happy with More’s retreat. One of the store owners in same locality Shri Gopalbhai Gandhi says, ” the mall and retail chain culture is temporary, we are here to serve you permanently.” Another happy person is a poor hawker who sells vegetables on his moving push cart by visiting streets. One such vegetable vendor Karsan Devipujak tells GujaratMoney,”It is Devi Mata(holly goddess)’s wish to protect us against this retail invasion. We are here, and you would see they all will have to close their stores. We have defeated Birla.”

However local women of Dharnidhar locality are not happy with More’s exit. “This was a good place to buy vegetables. Also a bag of milk was 50 paisa cheaper. This store should be replaced by similar store. This area needs such store. It is unfortunate that though this particular branch is doing good business, the group has decided to close it,” one of the local women, Mamtaben Shah a frequent visitor to this store told GujaratMoney.

So sad to know that retail chains are getting closed in Ahmedabad. I really think that there is a place for such mega stores in the city. They provide lot of convenience to people. Also they make shopping more eventful instead of mere burden. Hope these companies will do proper homework before venturing into new area in future.

[GJ10]

This is a pretty long vid (and the editing style may give you a headache after a while!)

Features Kankaria and Janmarg as well as just giving a general feel of the Citys roads, malls and traffic!

[India101]

Originally Posted by GJ10

(and the editing style may give you a headache after a while!)

Now that you mentioned it...

[aks_sky]

Originally Posted by GJ10

This is a pretty long vid (and the editing style may give you a headache after a while!)

Features Kankaria and Janmarg as well as just giving a general feel of the Citys roads, malls and traffic!

Haha the song is good and yea the vid editing reminds me of cloverfield. Motion sickness anyone.

[GJ10]

Dishman Pharma SEZ to take off after 4 year delay

The ambitious SEZ project of the listed entity Dishman Pharmaceuticals & Chemicals will finally take off after a delay of over
four years. With construction beginning at the site, the company is now hopeful to raise further funds for the project.

The Rs 1,000-crore Dishman Pharma, a major player in contract research and manufacturing services space, has started construction at its proposed SEZ site near Ahmedabad last week of March. If all goes well, the SEZ will be the second active SEZ in Gujarat after Zydus Cadila promoted SEZ — Pharmaez. Other major projects like PHASEZ (promoted by Cadila Pharma), Jubilant SEZ (promoted by Jubilant Organosys) and JB SEZ (promoted by JB Chemicals and IL&FS) are yet to pick up.

The ambitious project was moving at a snail’s pace all these years after the announcement for two SEZs for pharma and engineering was made in 2006. By end-2008, the foundation stone for the two SEZs was laid on 600 acres. In August 2009, Dishman scrapped its engineering SEZ due to the global recession. Also, the company made alteration in its Rs 500-crore SEZ project plans by merging the engineering SEZ land with pharma SEZ.

The company attributes the delay to requisite the government clearance and land acquisition. It claims it has recently received the last requisite clearance from Gujarat Industrial Commissioner and has begun the work at the SEZ site. “We have raised Rs 120-crore fund for the project,” said JR Vyas, managing director, Dishman Pharma. It has raised funds from IDBI and Bank of Maharashtra for the project, which is being executed by the company’s infrastructure arm — Dishman Infrastructure.

“We are looking forward to raise another Rs 100 crore from leasing out plots in the SEZ to companies in next few months,” Mr Vyas said, adding that the company has received expression of interest from 15 Indian pharma companies and about 10 overseas players, mostly from Europe and the US. The company also expects some Japanese companies to come to the SEZ due to its proximity to Dholera-SIR project and the Freight Corridor. The company has begun developing Phase-I of the SEZ by undertaking construction of compound wall and site office. “We will raise additional funds once we are done with Phase-I,” Mr Vyas added, while negating speculations of talks with private equity firms.

The SEZ is in close proximity to the existing manufacturing facility of the company outside Ahmedabad city near Sanand. Dishman SEZ is spread over an area of 110 hectares, out of which 72% is earmarked for the processing zone, while the remaining 28% area will be utilised as non-processing zone

For posterity, here is an article from back in 2006 when it was first proposed

Always good to see a more of these exciting projects coming back from the dead!

[viedumonde]

Ahmedabad's heritage dream draws near
TNN, Apr 16, 2010, 03.33am IST

AHMEDABAD: After a huge build-up fully backed by The Times of India, Ahmedabad’s aspiration to become a World Heritage City will get a boost at the three-day international conference on Asian World Heritage Cities beginning on Sunday at the Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA).

The event will begin on World Heritage Day when some of the world’s best brains on heritage conservation would converge here to help Ahmedabad stake a legitimate claim with Unesco.

Heritage experts from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Japan, Laos, Nepal, Vietnam and Thailand have agreed to be part of a special committee that will help guide Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and Gujarat government document the rich heritage of Ahmedabad.

Ahmedabad is the only city in India that has taken this significant step and has a broad policy framework already in place. The conference has been organised by Unesco, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Indian Heritage Cities Network (IHCN) and National Institute of Urban Affairs.

Experts would discuss the economic benefits of heritage city status, mainstreaming urban heritage planning, heritage management, and initiative to protect and promote a heritage city.

Among those who would attend this three-day conference would be Unesco’s India director Armoogum Parsuramen and Unesco’s international representatives Nicole Bolomey and Lodovico Folin-Calibi. Director general of ASI Gautam Sengupta and IHCN member Minja Yang would also be present at the seminar.

The presence of both Unesco and ASI officials is significant because the bid for World Heritage City status has to go from the ASI to Unesco. Helping Ahmedabad in the documentation would be Prof Syed Idid from Malaysia, the man responsible for the twin cities of Melaka and Penang getting the status in 2008.
Officials hope that the documentation would be completed by early 2011 and, if all goes well, Ahmedabad could get the recognition in 2012.

“Out of the 10 Unesco categories for the World Heritage City status, Ahmedabad today fulfils six. It has been a 14-year journey for AMC in the area of heritage conservation and we are now poised to bring it to a logical conclusion,” says AMC’s heritage cell head Debashish Nayak, who has helped gather a galaxy of heritage experts from the world over.

[bluesapphire]

A’bad down in the dumps
City Rated 19th Among 25 Cities Surveyed For Cleanliness

Ahmedabad: Ahmedabad may have been declared a mega city, but it’s sanitation is yet to live up to the label.
Open defecation is seen as one of the banes of this city, contributing to it’s low ranking in a national city rating under the National Urban Sanitation Policy (NUSP) conducted by Union ministry of urban development.
Ahmedabad was ranked 19th among 25 major cities on cleanliness, in the country. Also, the city scored poorly in universal access to toilets for all and in proper wastewater treatment, recycle & reuse of municipal solid waste, and in treatment and safely disposal of total solid waste generation in the city.
Even cities like Jamshedpur, Bidhannagar in Kolkata, Kanpur and Shillong in Meghalaya have fared better than Ahmedabad in sanitation parameters in the survey.
Surat and Rajkot beat Ahmedabad to fare among top ten clean cities in the country. The rating task was conducted across 423 urban conglomerates across the country to create awareness on hygienic conditions in urban areas.
On the Ahmedabad ratings, professor and head, department of housing, CEPT University, Madhu Bharti said, “The ratings will motivate the cities to do better in improving sanitation facilities. These are indicators for city governance to wake up and take necessary action for robust sanitation management in place.”
“Major public awareness, incentives policy for cleanliness and strict monetary fines should also be adopted by the civic body to maintain the proper hygiene and sanitation facilities in the city. AMC can take a leaf out of the improved sanitation facilities in Surat after the city was hit by plague and floods,” added Bharti
“Water quality in water bodies in Nikol and Chandola has high bacterial contamination and low levels of oxygen, while Sabarmati riverfront project and Kankaria lakefront development has improved on its water quality”, she said.
Three agencies — Centre for Environmental Planning & Technology(CEPT) University, Ahmedabad, AC Nielsen, Development & Research Services Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, were involved to assess the status of sanitation in the cities.
Director of UMC-ICMA which was also involved with CEPT University in rating exercise, Manvita Baradi, said, “The sanitation facilities in urban slums in the city are in deplorable conditions, either the public toilets facilities are non existing or not user friendly.”
“The city needs a ward level sanitation action plan to improve the situation on ground and also regular monitoring of municipal waste disposal system,” said Baradi.

AMC IRKED

The poor rating has irked AMC authorities, who have now questioned the adopted methodology to rate the different cities. On the rankings, a senior AMC official said, “The ranking does not give the real picture of the city. AMC authorities have initiated lot of measures including emphasis on construction of more public toilets than pay & use toilets in the city. The solid waste management plan of the city under JNNURM will start showing its results in next six months when the project will be implemented fully.”

DRINKING WATER IS SAFE

The drinking water supplied by AMC has been rated safe and passed the stringent laboratory tests conducted by the rating agency. Eighty per cent of the sample municipal water has passed the tests, said professor Madhu Bharti of CEPT University.

[amarprince]

Saturday, June 19, 2010, 12:00 Hrs [IST]
New domestic terminal at Ahmedabad Airport to be inaugurated next month

By TBM Staff | Mumbai


The new domestic terminal building at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad, inspired by Singapore’s Changi Airport, will be inaugurated next month. As per the airport officials, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel will formally inaugurate the new terminal. The inauguration was earlier slated to be held in May this year, but was called off due to incomplete work.

Anuj Aggarwal, Director, Ahmedabad Airport said, “The exact date for inauguration of the new terminal building is being worked out, but it will take place next month. The building was originally planned to be used for international operations, but it will now cater to the fast-growing domestic traffic.”

According to a report in DNA, the new terminal building measures 4.50 lakh sq ft and has been developed at a cost of Rs 290 crore. It has the capacity to handle 1,000 passengers at a time. With domestic traffic at Ahmedabad Airport growing fast, the passenger handling capacity is planned to be further increased to 1,600 in the near future. The building has been planned according to International Airport Transport Association (IATA) norms for various facilities and intelligent building management systems.

According to the officials, on an average, there are seven international flights from Ahmedabad Airport per day, while number of domestic flights is more than 50. The airport catered to over 27 lakh domestic passengers in 2009-2010, while corresponding number of international flyers was seven lakh. “It was felt that the new terminal building will be better utilised if used for domestic operations, which account for almost three-fourth of the total air traffic at Ahmedabad Airport. Moreover, domestic air traffic is growing at a much faster pace than international air traffic,” stated an official at Ahmedabad Airport.

http://www.travelbizmonitor.com/new-...xt-month-10663

[GJ10]

Ahmedabad makes it to International Transport project

Ahmedabad has become the only city in India to rub shoulders with nine others to figure in a major new programme of the Institute of Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) — Our Cities Ourselves.

The programme will be launched with an international travelling exhibition in New York from June 24 before going to other places.

Under this programme, 10 of the world’s leading architects will envision what these 10 most fascinating cities could look like if sustainable transportation was put at the heart of urban planning.

Other cities include Buenos Aires, Dar-es-Salaam, Budapest, Rio De Janeiro, Guangzhou, Johannesburg, Jakarta, Mexico City and New York.

The programme’s website www.ourcitiesourselves.org has a key feature called ‘My City’, which gives one a chance to air one’s view about the sustainable development in the cities.

The blog says: “The cities have proven to be leaders in innovation in sustainable transportation and they are fertile grounds for transformation.” Many of the cities are in developing countries because this is where most urban growth will happen in the next 20 years. It is to be noted that these cities will get an opportunity to learn from the mistakes made by the developed countries, the blog says. The exhibition marks 25 years of progress by ITDP and is designed to attract interest and debate enabling ITDP to maximise it impact in cities throughout the world. ITDP works alongside the local administration and advocacy groups to create projects that reduce poverty and pollution, says its organisers.

This is the Official Site for the initiative, seems like an interesting concept and hopefully along with the likes of the Shanghai Expo, will raise awareness about Ahmedabad.

The main focus is the regeneration/modernisation of the Jamalpur area:

Site
Jamalpur just south of the historic city, currently overtaken with motorcycles, cars and motorized rickshaws. Includes a large vacant site, ripe for development.

Proposal
BRT linking to the city, pedestrian squares, bicycle-friendly streets leading to the waterfront and mixed-use development in the vacant site

[GJ10]

July 26, City to attempt green record

The state Forest Department will plant 6 lakh saplings in the city on July 26. Thousands of youths, school and college student, government officials, executives and others will participate in the day-long plantation drive.

The attempt will be a unique way of paying homage to the people who died in the coordinated blasts that shook the city in 2008.

“We want to contribute our might to increasing the supply of oxygen to the environment. We invite universities, colleges, schools, municipal corporation and public and private sector units to participate in the drive. It will be ideal if we reach one man-one tree ratio in Ahmedabad,” S K Nanda, Principal Secretary to the Forest and Environment Department, told Mirror.

The Forest Department has finalised two major centres for plant distribution — Indira Bridge nursery and Van Chetna Kendra in Vastrapur. It is in the process of setting up as many as 82 small and big distribution centres, Nanda said.

The department will ensure biodiversity by distributing different species.

“The campaign not only aims at setting a world record of plantation on a single day in a city, but also aims at reflecting the harmony and commitment of all Gujaratis to the noble cause of protecting the earth.”

Currently the record of planting the highest number of saplings in a day is with Keti Bunder town in Thatta district of Pakistan.