VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh government’s claim of improved public satisfaction across key departments appears to come with significant caveats, with its own Public Positive Perception survey revealing pockets of substantial dissatisfaction over basic civic amenities and essential services.
The survey, conducted by the Real Time Governance Society (RTGS) across 11 categories, including temple facilities, road conditions, APSRTC services, transport department functioning, fire services and urea availability, between June 2025 and May 2026, recorded an overall positive perception of 68.82 per cent.
The government highlighted this as an improvement of 3.06 percentage points over the previous year’s figure for June 2024-May 2025.
However, beneath the overall figure lies a striking pattern of dissatisfaction, particularly over poor road conditions, inadequate temple amenities, poor maintenance of bus stations, and the availability and quality of urea.
A closer look at the responses raises questions over whether the overall percentage adequately reflects ground-level experiences, particularly in areas that directly affect citizens.
The overall positive perception of temple-related services stood at 70.8 per cent. However, nearly 40 per cent of respondents reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with the availability of drinking water and cleanliness, while more than 20 per cent raised concerns over the quality of prasadam at the temples.
The performance also varied among major temples. The Sri Brahmarambha Mallikarjuna Swamy Varla Devasthanam at Srisailam recorded only 68 per cent positive perception, while the Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam in Vijayawada secured 74 per cent.
Road infrastructure emerged as another major concern. Around 55 per cent of respondents flagged poor road conditions and the persistent problem of potholes, raising questions over the effectiveness of road maintenance despite repeated government assurances.
The finding is particularly significant as potholes are among the most visible indicators of the quality of public infrastructure. With more than half of the respondents pointing to poor roads, the survey findings challenge any attempt to portray overall public satisfaction as a uniform reflection of governance.
The survey’s APSRTC findings similarly reveal a contrast. While the overall positive perception of APSRTC services stood at around 73 per cent over the past two years, passengers expressed considerable dissatisfaction with basic facilities at bus stations. Around 45 per cent gave negative feedback on bus station maintenance, while 50 per cent were unhappy with drinking water and toilet facilities. Passengers also reported instances of alleged rude behaviour by RTC staff.
The Fire Services Department emerged as one of the strongest performers in the survey. More than 90 per cent of respondents expressed satisfaction with the department’s services, while about 80 per cent gave a positive response to its emergency response services.
The relatively strong public response indicates that the department’s performance is translating into public confidence and offers a benchmark for other departments.
Urea supply remains a key concern The most worrying finding concerns the availability and quality of urea. The sector recorded only 53.8 per cent positive perception, indicating that nearly half of the respondents were dissatisfied with the situation. The finding assumes significance as timely availability of quality fertiliser is critical, particularly during the crop season. The relatively low satisfaction level suggests that urea supply remains a major area of concern.