Ahmedabad
Gujarat’s three major municipal corporations marked the 80th Independence Day on Saturday with flag-hoisting ceremonies in Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad and Rajkot, combining tributes to freedom fighters with announcements on infrastructure, cleanliness, public services and future urban development. In Gandhinagar, Mayor Mira Patel hoisted the National Flag at the civic body’s Sector 17 office.
Addressing councillors, officials and citizens, she said the real measure of municipal development was not the amount of money spent but the positive change in people’s lives. She said the progress of a city should be measured not by its tallest building but by the nutrition available to its most vulnerable child. She announced that infrastructure projects worth Rs 1,000 crore, including a sports complex, modern roads and a City Civic Centre, would be taken up under the Centre’s Urban Challenge Fund scheme. The civic body is also strengthening water and drainage infrastructure, including a 40 MLD water treatment plant at Sughadh and a 100 MLD sewage treatment plant at Jaspur. With 40 electric buses already operating, work is underway to add another 60.
Patel urged citizens to keep the city clean, conserve water and electricity, follow traffic rules, pay taxes on time and protect public property. Ahmedabad Mayor Hitesh Barot hoisted the Tricolour at Maharana Pratap Chowk in Khokhra and paid tribute to freedom fighters and martyrs. Referring to the goal of ‘Viksit Bharat @2047’, he said: “Youth would remain a key pillar of development and needed to be connected with education, skills, values and opportunities.” Barot highlighted the city’s expanding sports infrastructure, including the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex, Vastral Sports Complex and Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium, while saying Ahmedabad is strengthening its position as a sports city ahead of the Commonwealth Games-2030. He also referred to tree-planting initiatives such as ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ and ‘Mission Five Million Trees’ and called on residents to segregate wet and dry waste and follow traffic and cleanliness rules. The Ahmedabad programme also included cultural performances by students of municipal schools, while freedom fighters and sanitation workers were honoured. Deputy Mayor Anju Shah, Standing Committee Chairman Kamlesh Patel, Ruling Party Leader Jashubhai Thakor, Whip Atul Mishra, Municipal Commissioner Banchhanidhi Pani and other officials and elected representatives attended
. In Rajkot, Mayor Dr Nehal Shukla hoisted the Tricolour at Atal Sarovar after a group rendition of ‘Vande Mataram’, followed by the National Anthem. “The city is moving towards becoming a smarter and more developed urban centre through improvements in infrastructure, cleanliness and green energy,” he said. Shukla outlined plans for an advanced food laboratory, stronger water and drainage networks, a 150-tonne Material Recovery Facility, AI-based systems for faster resolution of civic complaints and improved infrastructure for 100 CNG buses. He also said the civic body would prioritise around 14 pending town-planning schemes and submit plans for about 10,000 houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana over the next year. Rajkot’s ceremony also featured a first-of-its-kind demonstration by Fire and Emergency Services personnel, who conducted simulated water-rescue operations at Atal Sarovar and a high-rise fire rescue. Six sanitation workers, six ASHA workers and six Anganwadi workers were honoured for outstanding performance with certificates and shawls. The three civic ceremonies concluded with patriotic performances and reaffirmations of civic responsibility, alongside tributes to those who contributed to India’s freedom and those working for the cities’ cleanliness, safety and public welfare.