Vadodara: To mitigate the risk of floods in the Vishwamitri River, the civic body on Sunday kicked off work to deepen and widen the river over the next 100 days. The foundation stone for the ₹62.22 crore project was laid near Mangal Pandey Bridge by Mayor Pinkiben Soni and Assembly Chief Whip Balkrishna Shukla.

Standing Committee Chairman Dr. Sheetal Mistry stated that the 24.7 km-long Vishwamitri River will undergo work in four phases over the next 100 days. An estimated 19 lakh cubic meters of soil, mud, and silt will be excavated from the riverbed, and forest clearing will be carried out across 236.49 hectares. These efforts aim to increase the river’s carrying capacity from 800 cusecs to 1,100 cusecs.

A total of 10 dumpers, four tractors, four Hitachis, and six JCBs have been deployed for the work, which began near Mangal Pandey Bridge. Meanwhile, the Vadodara Municipal Corporation is also implementing additional flood prevention and control measures. These include the deepening and widening of Ajwa and Pratappura lakes, construction of a bar lake at Dena, re-routing of the dry canal, creation of a new channel, and deepening and widening of other city canals.

Work Phases and Scope

Phase 1: From Maretha to Kotnath Mahadev Temple

• Excavation: 3.65 lakh cubic meters of soil over 6.1 km
• Cost: ₹14.84 crore
• Sludge Removal: 54,811 cubic meters
• Forest Clearing: 63.89 hectares

Phase 2: From Kotnath Mahadev Temple to Vidyakunj

• Excavation: 4.04 lakh cubic meters of soil over 5.93 km
• Cost: ₹16.29 crore
• Sludge Removal: 60,601 cubic meters
• Forest Clearing: 59.64 hectares

Phase 3: From Vidyakunj to Kashiba Hospital

• Excavation: 3.87 lakh cubic meters of soil over 6.5 km
• Cost: ₹15.70 crore
• Sludge Removal: 58,059 cubic meters
• Forest Clearing: 66.16 hectares

Phase 4: From Kashiba Hospital to Dena

• Excavation: 3.83 lakh cubic meters of soil over 6.1 km
• Cost: ₹15.37 crore
• Sludge Removal: 57,546 cubic meters
• Forest Clearing: 46.80 hectares