Paved with good intentions: Netas' addiction to concrete blocks green spaces
Updated: May 24th, 2024
With the relentless summer sun beating down on us, it’s hard not to miss the “good old days” before concrete seemingly took over the streets.
Whether it is the city or more rural regions of Gujarat, government representatives seem to have equated concrete with the word development. How else would one explain why Central and state government grants meant for development and worth lakhs of rupees are being used to build over pavements and concretize roads?
It’s not like the leadership fails to understand the importance of a green cover. Last August, for instance, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel led the 74th Van Mohotsav, which saw “tree chariots” distributing free saplings door to door in various districts of the state.
Yet, everywhere you turn, once-empty patches of land now sport concrete paver blocks.
Concrete, as a quick Internet search will tell you, absorbs and retains heat through the day. This means all that trapped heat is released at night, when the outside of the concrete is cooler than inside due to the high emissivity of the concrete. No wonder then, that even nighttime temperatures across the state refuse to fall below a muggy 30 °C.
Concrete also blocks rainwater from draining into the ground, causing a two-fold problem. City streets flood during the monsoons, which in turn cause a rise in vector-borne diseases and other issues, and the groundwater table is not recharged, causing droughts in the summer. Some paver blocks are porous. While these allow water to pass through, they are also more prone to water damage, creating the need for regular (and expensive) maintenance.
Even CM Patel, who on May 23 reminded people to stay indoors to protect themselves from the extreme heat, is guilty of authorizing the laying of paver blocks in his first term as MLA.
According to an estimate shared by the district conservator of forests, Gandhinagar, a person standing on a patch of grass under a tree would experience a temperature of 31 °C even when the outside temperature is 39 °C. At the same time, standing on an asphalt road would make the same heat feel like 67 °C and sanding on a concrete sidewalk, 60 °C!
So, even if one were inclined to “plant more trees”, as the popular slogan goes, one would be at a loss to find any space to do so.
Politicians jumping on trend
Kaparada MLA and former minister Jitu Chaudhary inaugurated the paver block and cremation ground at Kakadkopar.
South MLA Alpesh Thakor from Gandhinagar Constituency, MLA from Amreli Constituency Kaushik Vekaria, MLA from Raopura Constituency Balkrishan Shukla, MLA from Dhoraji Constituency Dr Mahendra Padlia, MLA from Sabarmati Constituency Dr Harshad Patel, MLA from Ellisbridge Constituency Amit Shah, MP from Kutch-Morbi Constituency Vinod Chavda, MP from Kamrej Constituency MLA and State Minister Praful Pansuriya, Porbandar Constituency MP Ramesh Dhaduk, Porbandar Constituency MLA Arjun Modhwadia, Kaprada Constituency Ex-Minister Jitu Chowdhury, Daryapur Constituency MLA Kaushik Jain and Dhari-Bagsara Constituency MLA JV Kakadiano have signed an agreement for the construction of paver blocks from the government grant. Apart from this, the list is long which every city and rural area of the state has blocked land with paver block from government grant.
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