Kakinada: Encroached drains stain Smart City

Kakinada: Though covered with concrete slabs, most of the drains in the Smart City are encroached and used as parking lots for commercial establishments. The situation is even worse at Mallayya Agraharam,Gandhinagar, Jagannaickpur, Main Road and other areas.

At Mallayya Agraharam, a drainage is converted into a parking area and thereby causing obstruction to flow of the sewage water. As a result, sewage water overflows onto the roads and people are unhappy as they have to wade through the dirty water. Secondly, the neighbours are unable to notice the vehicles approaching from other end of the road because of the car shed on the drain. Residents of Kakinada Municipal Corporation ward No 38 blame officials for not removing encroachments on the drainage pathway and restoring smooth flow of sewage water. Encroachment of the open drains became order of the day despite human casualties and overflow of sewage water onto the roads in Smart City.

A few residents of the locality are demanding for the removal of the parking place and help for the restoration of the drainage canal in order to allow the free flow of polluted water. They are enquiring whether permission has been accorded by the KMC for the parking space and removal of the drainage.

AVD Mentarao, resident of Mallayya Agraharam, stated that people encroached the drainage pathway and constructed a car shed there over the past 6 months. How car parking is allowed by removing the drainage canal and causing unhygienic conditions to the residents of the locality, he questioned.

He requested the Smart City CEO and MD and Kakinada Municipal Corporation Commissioner Swapnil DinakarPundkr to dismantle the car parking area and restore the drainage canal for keeping a healthy environment.