Smart city turns a swine city

Kakinada: Industrial pollution, mosquitoes’ problem, lack of proper drainage system and other basic amenities have made life miserable for the inhabitants of the Dairy farm centre. The city is located 3 metres below the sea level and that it became water-logged when it rains.

The pool-like city obviously becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes and wallowing place for an army of pigs. A resident of Sanjeev Nagar told The Hans India that a pig pounced upon a girl and tried to take away sometime back. The alert people saved her after a great deal of efforts, he recounted while seeking a lasting solution to the menace of pigs.

Veeralakshmi, a housewife of Rajiv Gruhakalpa Block-2, slammed the civic authorities for their alleged failure to control pigs. The pig menace comes to an end only when the city will have an underground drainage facility.

The area is mostly inhabited by industrial workers and the poor engaged in menial jobs. Pendem Rajesh, a resident of Sanjeev Nagar, said they were fed up with the menace of pigs and sought urgent measures from the Kakinada Municipal Corporation.

The government sanctioned Rs 388 crore after giving smart tag to the city. It is proposed to build an underground drainage system with Rs 77 crore under the smart city project. “When will the city become ‘smart’ in terms of sanitation and infrastructure? It cannot happen in one or two days. It will obviously take some time for all the developmental works to take off,” asserts Kakinada Municipal Commissioner Aleem Basha.

By Peri Srikanth