Visakhapatnam: Durgapuram habitants' wait for house pattas gets longer

Visakhapatnam: It is a long wait for the people of Durgapuram, close to NAD Kotha Road as they wait for their house pattas for the past eight decades. Formed with a bunch of houses, the village is now a place wherein 350 families and 920 voters reside.

Ahead of the elections, residents of Durgapuram eagerly wait for a 'saviour' who would step forward to resolve their decade-long problems. It is no different even now. Located in the heart of the city, people of the village, which falls under the West constituency, look forward to a better future.

Durgapuram is dotted with railway track on one side, lands belonging to the Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT) and Navy on the other. "Every election, we keep hearing about the assurances of the contesting candidates. But once the elections get over, the elected candidates cite technical reasons for the delay in issuing the house pattas to the villagers," recalls Boddepalli Hemalatha, a resident of Durgapuram. Since 4.5 acres of Durgapuram falls under the ambit of VPT land. There was a proposal made by the then government to provide an alternate site for the VPT. However, the proposal did not make any headway. "It is because of this issue, we are yet to receive our house pattas. At a time when we hope that the problem gets resolved, something or the other crops up delaying the progress," laments D Govind, another resident of Durgapuram.

When asked about the issue, YSRCP candidate from the 57th ward Murru Vani Nanaji says, "Already, Rajya Sabha MP V Vijay Sai Reddy has given assurance to the locals that the pattas issue will be brought forward to the notice of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. This will be our first priority followed by the infrastructure development which has taken a backseat for a long time now." Even to reach the burial ground, residents mention that they need to cross the railway tracks. In case of any goods train stationed in the area, it would take a long time for them to reach the spot. This apart, 50 families of Bharat Nagar near Marripalem which belong to the West constituency are yet to receive their house pattas. Meanwhile, residents of Asivanipalem, Shyam Nagar, Sidhardh Nagar, Subash Nagar from the 57th ward demand better amenities in the neighbourhoods.