Amaravati: The State government is giving wide publicity to the name ‘Amaravati’ in the national and international platforms.

Amaravati is being portrayed as the capital of most happening State in India. In spite of all these propaganda to give a boost to capital name, the town in Guntur district is suffering from several problems like poor sanitation, bad roads, dog menace and other service-oriented problems.

Amaravati has two major roads, from RTC bus stand to Amareswara Swamy temple and from the town centre to Dharanikota. The roads create a cloud of dust or splash dirt whenever vehicles pass on them.

The roads are full of potholes, some of them up to one foot depth. As a result, vehicles are getting damaged. Another serious trouble was spinal problems for the people travel through these roads.

Srinivas Katabattini, proprietor of Raja Studio said, “The state government is boasting about several facilities being provided to Amaravati. But the local panchayat is neglecting basic facilities required in the capital city.

The riders of two-wheelers should be very careful while driving through the main road or Dharanikota road. We are facing severe spinal problems due to potholes. During rain, the potholes are becoming very dangerous as the riders or drivers cannot expect the depth of water stagnated in potholes.”

The government hospital in Amaravati is suffering from many ‘ailments’. The sanitary conditions are very poor and dumps of garbage can be seen everywhere on the hospital premises. Due to lack of beds, the patients in emergency condition are also given accommodation in general wards.

As there is no sufficient staff and equipment, the doctors in the hospital learned to refer almost every case to the Government General Hospital in Guntur.

The burial ground is full of bushes and thorn trees. There is not enough place for performing the last rites of the deceased. The construction of burning chamber was stopped abruptly after change of power in panchayat recently.

If there are two bodies to be cleared for last rites, one family must postpone the rituals for at least 12 hours.The internal streets of the Amaravati are ruled by dogs.

The Salipet, Dhyana Buddha Statue, Nandanavanam, Museum road, Vincent church road are full of dogs. Any person entering those roads is prone for dog bites.

Madhusudan, who runs an ice cream shop near Dhyana Buddha statue said, “As the Dhyana Buddha is getting wide publicity in the media, a number of tourists are visiting the town regularly.

The tourists are often afraid of dogs. The tourists chased by barking stray dogs is a common sight.”Whenever it rains in Amaravati, the internal roads are full of overflowing drains and drains chocked by garbage.

A ward member in Amaravati said, “The government is not taking any initiative to provide facilities to Amaravati, but is busy with boasting the greatness of the Amaravati.

We request the government to spend at least one per cent of the funds being used on propaganda and advertising for the capital.”

By:Naresh Nandam