Kota Veedhi: Voice of protest choked by dirt

The Times of India , Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Correspondent : TNN
Visakhapatnam: At one time, Kota Veedhi raised concerns over pollution by the Visakhapatnam Port and became a popular landmark for people's agitations. But, over the years, it failed to protect its own area from various civic problems that the people face.

Apart from the port's air pollution, unhygienic condition of drainage canals, roads, public toilets and bus stops mar the beauty of the area. Defunct streetlights and stray dogs are common in Kota Veedhi which falls under ward number 25 of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) and Visakhapatnam South Assembly constituency led by MLA Vasupalli Ganesh Kumar. Nearly 1,000 families reside in the area comprising mostly Anglo-Indians, Bengalis and fishermen.

R Srinivasa Rao, a watchman at a national bank in the area, said pollution from port and vehicles, and irregular maintenance by GVMC staff are the main problems that have been haunting Kota Veedhi for decades.

"There were newspaper reports to the effect that pollution from the port has come down, but it is untrue. We get black dust daily due to the operations at the port and movement of vehicles. This apart, the corporation staff are also irregular in cleaning the roads and canals," Srinivasa Rao said.

VasupalliRamana, another resident, said a public toilet near the SBI's branch has not been working for last few months. "There is no water in the public toilet and no one cleans it. I brought the issue to the notice of the local GVMC staff, but none of them have bothered to set it right. It will be very useful to the public, particularly the staff of APSRTC buses, bank customers and others. GVMC spends crores of rupees on new toilets, but is not bothered about maintaining the existing one like this public toilet in the main junction of Kota Veedhi," Ramana said.

K Kamesh, an auto-rickshaw driver, said the municipal water contains iron dust from rusted pipes. "Power supply interruptions, defunct streetlights, bumpy roads and dogs and mosquitoes are common to the area," Ramana added.

When contacted, a senior GVMC official said, "We will take measures to resolve the problems in Kota Veedhi. Our commissioner will also make a visit to the area once the BRICS summit is over."

 
SOURCE : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/visakhapatnam/Kota-Veedhi-Voice-of-protest-choked-by-dirt/articleshow/54301924.cms
 


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