VIJAYAWADA: Residents of Labour Colony in Bhavanipuram are facing untold hardships due to pathetic civic amenities. Garbage dumps, accumulation of garbage on street corners and the resultant gathering of stray animals and rag pickers salvaging rags and polyethene from the dumps are a common sight in the colony.
The three overflowing dumper bins in the colony reflect the fact that the VMC sanitation workers are not emptying them regularly. People conveniently dump garbage at street corners, road margins and vacant places.
The dump near the APSRTC dispensary in the colony is an eyesore. The stench emanating from it is unbearable for people residing in the vicinity.
There are two parks in the colony which are purely for namesake, reflecting the apathy of the VMC towards their maintenance. “Paucity of funds and poor maintenance have defeated the very purpose of parks as they are in highly deplorable condition. The only time our children can have some recreation is when they are away at school,” says K Umamaheswari, a resident of the colony.
Another major problem haunting the colony is the lack of proper internal roads. The main roads are also in a bad shape giving a nightmarish experience to vehicle riders and motorists.
According to locals, the roads were laid in the colony some five years ago. Despite several representations, the local corporator and VMC authorities have failed to pay attention to the improvement of basic amenities. Even if new roads are laid, they get damaged within no time due to poor quality in executing the works in the absence of effective supervision. Subsequent maintenance of the roads are totally ignored,” says another resident of the colony S Subrahmanyam.
“We find it extremely difficult to drive two-wheelers on these bad roads in the colony. The situation worsens during the rainy season as digging of roads for laying cables and executing other works is quite common,” says N Naresh.
Labour Colony is one of the areas in the city which still does not have a proper drainage facility. The low-lying areas in the colony remain submerged for days during the rainy season.
P Rangaswamy, a shopkeeper, says: “Sewage water flows onto the roads during the rainy season due to lack of proper drainage facility. Pedestrians have to wade through the stagnated sewage water. Though the problem has been there for several years, no steps have been taken to resolve it. There is also no underground drainage in the colony.”
“Generally, the ward doesn’t have too many sewage problems. We have a team of five to six sanitation workers who promptly address the sewage problem if any. There is a little problem in a few places where the development works are incomplete. The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation is evolving a plan to develop the parks in the city. The parks in the Labour Colony will be developed as part of the plan. Steps have also been initiated to improve civic amenities in the colony,’’ says VMC circle officer Ch Raghunath.