Vijayawada: LIG, MIG residents in despair

Vijayawada: The residents of Housing Board colony in Bhimavaram are living in fear in the houses, which are in dilapidated condition. Also, poor infrastructure facilities have made their lives miserable.

The government had constructed three types of houses for three income groups of people - low income group (LIG), middle income group (MIG) and high-income group (HIG) – about 30 years ago in West Assembly constituency limits. The government laid roads and drinking water pipelines. Several thousand people belonging to low, middle, and high-income groups have purchased houses in the HB Colony.

But in the last two and half decades, LIG and MIG house blocks have reached dilapidated condition. Many houses developed cracks and leakages from washrooms has become common.

Meanwhile, the HIG houses are well built with all amenities and the residents are living comfortably.

Due to lack of proper drainage system, the sewage water overflows from side drains. As storm water drainage system is yet to be developed, during rainy season, storm water forms small pools in the colony and becomes breeding ground for mosquito menace.

APSRTC is operating adequate bus services to the HB colony. Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) during the last 30 years spent crores of rupees for laying roads, drinking water pipelines, development of parks and other works. But the residents are living in deplorable condition due to poor quality of the construction of houses.

The VMC has developed walking track and children's park adjacent to the bypass road in the HB Colony. The colony is located very near to the iron market and other wholesale trading market and its very near to national highway.

K Mohan Rao, a retired school teacher and owner of MIG house, lamented that both LIG and MIG houses built by the government were ruined in less than two decades. He said many house owners are living in the colony due to lack of alternate accommodation or unable to pay higher rents in other parts of the city.

The colony residents are also suffering from poor sanitation and roaming of pigs freely on the roads, he added.

The VMC officials and West constituency MLA and Endowments Minister Velampalli Srinivas have visited the colony several times and assured the residents of developing the colony. But their assurance was never implemented. Problems remained the same forcing the residents to live in miserable conditions.