Ahmedabad News | Vaishnodevi Underpass reopens, Cyclone Asna passes Guj with minimal impact & more

Vaishnodevi Underpass reopens after 5-day flooding closure; state govt updates midday meal menu, eliminating evening snacks; Cyclone Asna passes Gujarat with minimal impact, and more. Stay updated with what's happening in the city with this Ahmedabad news roundup.

The Vaishnodevi underpass on Ahmedabad's ring road has reopened after being closed for five days due to severe flooding. The closure had forced local residents to take long detours, causing significant inconvenience. The delay in clearing the underpass was due to a malfunction in the water pump system, which officials were reportedly unaware of until the flooding exposed the issue.

Cyclone Asna has moved into the Arabian Sea without causing significant impact on Gujarat, as predicted. The storm is now headed towards Oman. As a precautionary measure, local authorities had relocated around 3,500 people to safer areas and advised those living in huts and mud houses to seek shelter in more secure buildings.

The state government has updated the menu for the PM Poshan Scheme in government and grant-in-aid primary schools, focusing more on incorporating vegetables into midday meals. Starting September 1, the new menu will feature vegetables five days a week, a significant increase from the previous menu, which included vegetables only twice a week.

However, the revised menu has eliminated the 4 pm snack, a decision that has sparked opposition from many quarters.

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has reported that 19,626 potholes have appeared on city roads during the ongoing monsoon season. The East Zone was the hardest hit, with 5,297 incidents of potholes or road subsidence, followed by the South Zone with 4,388 cases, the North West Zone with 3,150, and the North Zone with 2,228. Of these, 19,228 potholes have been repaired by the corporation, while work remains pending on 398 roads.