Angry residents force councillors to retreat

Ahmedabad: The civic body’s ‘Mission Three Million Trees’ campaign hit a roadblock in Chenpur on Thursday. Three BJP councillors who arrived for the tree plantation drive in the area were met with strong resistance from residents fuming over the lack of development in their area.
The councillors urged the locals to voice their grievances through proper channels, but tempers flared as residents highlighted years of neglect compared to neighboring areas like Ranip, Kaligam and Jagatpur, which have seen significant infrastructural improvements.The tense situation forced the councillors to leave the tree plantation site at Chenpur talav.
Discontent among Chenpur village residents goes beyond the tree plantation drive. Manu Patel a local said, “Our village was icame under AMC jurisdiction 15 years ago, but we fail to understand AMC’s stepmotherly treatment towards us. We are asked to make representations, but nothing gets done.”
An AMC official said that residents had pointed to the stalled Chenpur underpass project, which has been languishing for three years. “The corporators were forced to return from Chenpur without undertaking the tree plantation drive,” said the senior AMC official.