Visakhapatnam: Rehab colony wallows in neglect

Visakhapatnam: Mahat Colony in Marripalem longs for basic amenities. Those residing near Katakavani Koneru near Jail Road were rehabilitated at Mahat Colony. Five decades back, basic infrastructure such as roads, drains were facilitated in the neighbourhood. In terms of maintenance and development, the colony has been neglected for a long time.

"The situation is pretty bad in the colony as we need to clean the drains by ourselves. Though sanitation staff members do visit the colony but the exercise of garbage pick-up and drain cleaning are mostly confined to the main road. The streets are often neglected," says Seshu Kumari, a resident of the Mahat Colony. A community building was constructed in the locality long back.

It is the venue where colony people carry out auspicious occasions and gather for meetings. "But now in the same premises, a ward secretariat office has been facilitated on the first floor and the ground floor is let out for a gymnasium.

Hence, we are not able to carry out any events in the building as earlier. Whatever occasions we need to celebrate will be carried out on the roads as we do not have dedicated space for it," rues Vijay Kumar, another resident. Also, roads are in a pathetic state in the colony. Owing to age, the roads have been worn out completely in many parts of the neighbourhood.

The potholes are filled with construction waste which is making the travel all the more challenging for the commuters. Residents lament that the colony which is close to the national highway has been grossly neglected for reasons still unclear to them. Be it roads or sanitation, people here demand the attention of the concerned authorities in order to make the neighbourhood tidier.