Visakhapatnam: Worn out roads, poor drainage system trouble residents
A view of Ganesh Colony; Domestic wastewater stagnated in a drain; A pathway without a road
Visakhapatnam: According top priority to the safety and security of the neighbourhood, Ganesh Colony Residents' Welfare Association pays a special attention to the maintenance of the colony.
Formed in 1985, the colony is now a home to 1,500 people. While a part of the neighbourhood is mired in Simhachalam temple lands issue, age-old drains and worn out roads continue to trouble the residents.
Earlier, a nine-member staff used to work for the sanitation maintenance. Despite the expansion of the area plus increased population, sanitation staff has, however, come down in the colony.
Some of the drains were built when the locality was under the administration of panchayat. It was much later, the colony merged with the GVMC limits. "Though new drains came in place after the colony got merged with the GVMC limits, lack of supervision of engineers has left some of the drains obsolete and they do not have a continuous flow," says Sakhineti Surya Narayana Raju, former president of the colony Residents Welfare Association.
In the process of laying UGD works, the roads have been dug up and later covered unevenly. Despite repeated representations made by the RWA members, the roads continue to be in a bad condition in the neighbourhood. In most lanes, colony people chipped in to build drains. "Keeping the security aspect in view, we (RWA members) have set up CC cameras in the colony. Similarly, the focus is on improving greenery and maintaining cleanliness of the neighbourhood without much dependence on the sanitation staff. However, there is a need to rework on the colony's roads and drains as they have become worn out over the years," says P Madhava Rao, president of Ganesh Colony Residents Colony.
Residents appeal to the authorities to develop a park in the neighbourhood. "A part of the government land is lying vacant. It would be very useful if that site can be developed into a park," say D Satyanarayana and Ch Eswara Rao, vice president and secretary of the RWA.