Visakhapatnam: Beach stretches in city to be maintained cleaner

Visakhapatnam: The coastal stretch, one of the main attractions in the city, is going to be cleaner in the days to come as Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) has taken a step forward to adopt a new system to keep the beaches clean.

In line with this, the GVMC sourced six beach cleaning equipment, including a newly-bought vehicle and five taken on lease. The vehicle, a sand rake debris sweeper, will reach even inaccessible zones that aid in keeping the beach stretches tidier. The corporation has sourced a Beach Tech 2000S vehicle to clean the beach by investing Rs 82 lakh with the support of 15th Finance Commission grant. This apart, five vehicles were taken on lease basis for a period of three years.

RK Beach is a major tourist spot in Visakhapatnam. Those visiting the city are sure to make this as a part of their itinerary. During weekends and holidays, the area draws over 50,000 visitors. Following high footfalls, the place is also frequently littered, those relaxing along the shores in particular.

Despite regular sanitation maintenance, weekly beach clean-up drives involving communities, stretches of beach continue to be untidy. By making use of the beach cleaning machines, larger areas would be cleaned in minimal time.

Sharing details, Mayor G Hari Venkata Kumari said, “GVMC has bought a cleaning vehicle and took another five vehicles on lease for three years at a cost of Rs 9.98 crore. In a place where tourists flock, maintaining cleanliness has become a challenging task. The equipment is bought to make the cleaning exercise easy.”

Once the vehicles are operated, the shores of the city are going to become much cleaner.