40 Cr for desilting, removing garbage

Anantapur: The Anantapur Municipal Corporation (AMC) is now fully geared to address the decades old inundation problem caused by Nadivanka which passes through the city to Somuladoddi village from the Kalyandurgam bypass.

It is good news for the citizens of the city to hear that a Rs 40 crore master plan has been formulated to desilt the canal and remove the garbage apart from stabilising the bund and beautifying the canal and addressing the basic problem of inundation of low lying areas caused by overflowing of the canal. The 10-km long canal has become a dumping ground for the city's waste.

In the rainy season, rainwaters overflows and easily submerge nearby residential colonies in the city and stalls traffic on the Nadivanka bride where the water overflows 4 feet above the bridge. The Nadivanka problem is age old and had not found solution for decades. It had become an election issue several times and is forgotten after the election.

The Nadivanka has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and foul smell emanates from the canal and people experience a feeling of nausea because of rotten smell. Vijay, a resident of Somnathnagar talking to The Hans India said that every year the canal water submerges about 200 houses in Somnathnagar.

He stated that several Mayors and municipal officers of the past made promises to address Nadivanka issue but for reasons best known to them could not take any initiative in this regard. He hoped that the talk of funds allocation for modernisation of Nadivanka are true and not an illusion. Residents of Somanathnagar are urging the municipal corporation to lift all the trash from Nadivanka from the highway to Somuladoddi and clear the way for free flow water.

Municipal Commissioner Murthy told The Hans India that tenders have been called for undertaking the Nadivanka re-building project at a cost of Rs 40 crore. Strengthening of bunds, bunds lining, bedding and desiltation of the 10-km long canal and removal of garbage dumps from the canal are part of the canal stabilisation project apart from beautifying the entire canal bund. 

The Nadivanka problem is being solved once and for all, he added. People of the city are heaving a sigh of relief after hearing of the Nadivanka canal rebuilding project. Local MLA V Prabhakar Choudhury is taking keen interest in the project.