Tirupati: Chenna Reddy Colony struggles with a plethora of problems

Tirupati: The 50-year-old Chenna Reddy Colony, one of the notified slums with a population of 4,000 struggling with plethora of problems including drinking water, mosquito menace, no playground for youth while oldest graveyard left with no basic facilities. Here, the drinking water problem is more and most residents depending on the suppliers providing safe drinking water (mineral water), paying at least Rs 20 daily for a 20 litre can.

Residents complain that the corporation water is not sufficient to a family and also not potable forcing them to get water on payment while the borewells are defunct or dried up. A resident Govindarajulu, who runs a petty shop, expressed his ire on the elected representatives and corporation officials including the ward level staff not looking at the problems despite complaining many times. "It is touted as Smart City but the ground reality is distressing," he averred.

The graveyard in the colony which is oldest and serves not only the colony but also about 50 localities in the north and south side of the pilgrim city is also remaining much neglected, said many residents.

With no water facility, people coming to conduct burial or cremation in the graveyard, are to depend on a bore near the graveyard while the number of platforms to keep the bodies for final rites is not adequate and also without any roof. Manjula from Thamburu family, which has been providing services at the yard, said there are no lights, water facility and sheds to protect from rain during cremation of bodies. A building constructed 10 years back for performing ceremonies remains abandoned. Due to the neglect of corporation authorities in developing the graveyard, people now prefer the gas based Govinda Dammam crematorium though it is far away, she added. Navadeep, an intermediate student, said they have no playground with facilities to help the youth to get fit for selections for employment in army or police. "Most of the youth here who are poor unable to afford private fitness training centres on payment basis and are forced to become drivers, daily labourers, contract workers,'' he said adding that we need these facilities and Corporation should provide them for the uplift of the poor in the colony.