Muttamsetti pitches for improved rail, air connectivity

Visakhapatnam: The Central government institutions like the Navy and Railways should understand the expectations and aspirations of people of city and change the train and flight timings accordingly, Tourism Minister Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao has said.

Addressing the officials of airport authorities, naval staff and district administration officials, among others in a review meeting held here on Saturday at the Collectorate, the minister observed that though nearly 10 to 15 flight services were ready to operate flights, the restrictions placed by the Navy is preventing airlines from coming forward to operate new services.

He noticed that the flight movements have come down in the past six months for varied reasons. MP M V V Satyanarayana underlined the need for allotting more slots for commercial flights.

Naval officials expressed apprehension that the airport may get inundated as there is a threat of excess water flowing from Meghadri Gedda reservoir. They said that if corrective measures were not taken, the excess water might enter the runway. This apart, the clogging of storm water drain located near the airport may add to the woes, they added.

The Minister lamented that no works have been taken in the recent past for the Railway zone and pointed out that Uday double-decker train was inaugurated without involving the local Minister. He noted that many trains were passing via Duvvada instead of Visakhapatnam thus causing inconvenience to the local passengers.

He urged Divisional Railway Manager Chetan Kumar Shrivastava, Waltair Division, to look into the development works in local stations such as Simhachalam and Pendurti as well.

Payakaraopeta MLA Golla Babu Rao lamented that 5,000 fishermen at Bangarammapalem, S Rayavaram mandal, lost their livelihood in the past three months because of dredging works being carried out at the coast. He demanded intervention of the navy to resolve the issue with immediate effect.

Further, Srinivasa Rao announced that Visakha Utsav will be celebrated on December 26 and 27 with a sanctioned amount of Rs 1 crore. He asked the officials to accord top priority to local artisans in the festival.

Similarly, 'Bheemli Utsav' will be conducted on November 9 and 10 and Araku Utsav is scheduled in February. The Minister said Visakha alone was earning Rs 30 crore as income towards tourism and infrastructure will be improved accordingly.

Chief Government Whip B Mutyala Naidu, VMRDA Chairman Dronamraju Srinivasa Rao, District Collector V Vinay Chand, Joint Collector L Shiva Shankar, GVMC Commissioner G Srijana, among others were present.