Vijayawada West Constituency
VIJAYAWADA: When a 52-year-old auto driver Kakara Manikyam migrated to Vijayawada from a remote village near Anakapalle in search of a better life in 1991, there was no major development in West constituency. Thirty years on, Manikyam, a resident of Kothapet, still claims that he has not seen any visible change in the area. Problems such as bad shape of roads, poor connectivity, lack of healthcare centres etc., still persist in the hillslope areas.
“When other parts of the city are developing at a fast pace, our localities have not witnessed any development in the past three decades. There was no much improvement in road infrastructure, drainage system etc. Areas such as Kothapet, Islampet, Panja Centre, Chittinagar, Srinivasa Mahal Centre and Milk Factory look the same as they were when I first visited the city,” rued Manikyam.
He said the road infrastructure in West constituency is inadequate to tackle the increasing vehicular traffic.
“I request both Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) officials and politicians to provide a permanent solution to our long-pending problems,” Manikyam added. With the local body elections just a few days away, public residing in the West Constituency are awaiting a permanent solution to their problems.
“Out of 22 divisions, nine divisions are located in the hilltop areas and majority of the localities lack basic amenities. In emergency situations, we are forced to climb down over 200 steps for immediate medical help. There is a huge need for setting up an urban healthcare centre for people residing in hillslope areas,” said Chintha Koteswara Rao, a resident of Mallikarjunapet.
The residents are also demanding that the officials develop more lung spaces, undertake road widening works, improve connectivity and reduce traffic congestions.“Two major roads Chittinagar — KBN College and KT Road are awaiting expansion works for more than a decade. With no remarkable development taking place in the constituency, we are hoping that at least the soon to be elected civic body will resolve our problems,” said Nani, another resident.