Kakinada: Rains expose true colour of smart city

Kakinada: When Kakinada was announced Smart city, residents were overwhelmed and eager to see their city smart. Many meetings and PowerPoint presentations were organised by Smart city officials and KMC officials. They said that Kakinada is going to get a cycling track, green belt, retrofit development, underground cabling, best drain system and best roads.

But when the development started, the true colour was exposed. The work was mainly focused on laying tar over good roads and decorating them with lane marks was the only final outcome. Many elite, activists, and public who attended this PowerPoint presentation were shocked to see the big picture show was only graphics.

Dr APJ Vinu, a resident of the city said that due to the rains and floods in Kakinada all the roads are full of rainwater and streets are full of garbage. Water submerged major roads, and streets are full of water stagnation. The best example is the road in front of the municipal office. It will be full of water for a small rain. The other roads and colonies are full of water, restricting people from reaching main roads.

He said the pathetic condition is due to no proper drain and no proper planning. There is no place for water to sink down, or for the water to flow out. Many roads have no drain network connected. And he said that water is getting stagnant and water is damaging the newly laid roads, spending crores of rupees.

A resident Bhamidipati Bhaskar Sarma said that due to this water stagnation many roads in the smart city are full of potholes, which has become dangerous for drivers and pedestrians. He said that the cheap quality of roads is evident by the tar being loosened and gravels coming out.

G Phanedra Kumar, a resident of Pratap Nagar said that several roads including major and local ones under the corporation limits are in a dilapidated condition which gives any commuter a bone rattling ride. He demanded that both the State and Central governments should take several steps for the development of the city under different projects like Smart City Mission. And these projects are not giving life to roads. The roads laid by the British are still of good quality, even after many years. But smart city roads just after 3 years are in a bad state.