VIJAYAWADA: The ‘City on Fast Track’ is gearing up to elect its fifth mayor after being upgraded into a municipal corporation in 1981. Delay in construction of stormwater drain project, infrastructure projects and retaining wall to prevent flooding of Krishna Lanka and other areas during floods to River Krishna are likely to be the key issues that influence the voters.
In 1981, elections were held for the municipal corporation for the first time, where both the Left parties -- CPI and CPM contested as an alliance. The Left party alliance won the majority divisions, T Venkateswara Rao of CPI elected as the first mayor for Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) in 1981 and he served till 1983. As part of the understanding between the allies, A Ramulu from CPM served as mayor (1983-84), followed by Lanka Govindarajulu from CPI (1984-85) and A Ramulu (1985-86).
In 1987, Jandhyala Shankar from Congress was elected as the mayor and he served till 1992. For the next three years, till 1995, for the first time the Corporation was under Special Officer rule. People were impressed with the Left parties’ rule and once again elected T Venkateswara Rao as the mayor (1995-2000). In the municipal elections held in 2000, Panchumarthi Anuradha from TDP was elected as first woman mayor for VMC and she served till 2005.
By chanting development mantra, the Left parties aligned with the Congress and contested the civic polls held in 2005. Tadi Shakuntala from CPI was elected as the second woman mayor for VMC and served for one year. As part of rotation, Mallika Begum (2006-08) and MV Ratna Bindu (2008-10) from Congress served as mayors. From 2010 to May 2014, the Corporation was under Special Officer rule for the second time. In 2014, Koneru Sreedhar from TDP was elected as the mayor and he served till 2019. For the third time, the Corporation was under Special Officer rule from May 2019 till date.This time, the YSRC, TDP in alliance with CPI and BJP-Jana Sena combine have set their eyes on winning the elections.
Stormwater drain project
Whenever there are incessant rains in Vijayawada, it has become a routine affair for the people residing in low-lying areas to look for alternative ways to let out the water from their houses and commercial establishments. To put an end to the perennial problem, in November 2016, the then Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley laid the foundation stone for the `461 crore stormwater drain project to develop the 424-km length of drainage network. The project works are still underway in some parts of the city. Only 72 per cent of the 424-km long project has been completed.
“How long does it take for a major construction company to complete the project on a stretch of 424 km? It has taken more than four-and-a-half years to complete 72 per cent of the project. The previous TDP government which made tall claims of completing the project failed to complete the works within the stipulated time. The ruling YSRC should speed up the works and make the drains functional before the onset of monsoon, Sunkara Rambabu, a resident of Kandrika, said.
YSRC ex-floor leader B Punyaseela said the State government has sanctioned `600 crore worth infrastructure projects which are in different stages of progress. Focus has been laid on completing the stormwater drainage on a war footing which was neglected during the TDP regime.
Retaining wall on banks of River Krishna
River Krishna witnessed highest flood levels in 2020. Houses in several areas such as Krishna Lanka, Ramalingeswara Nagar, Yanamalakuduru, Penamaluru and other areas downstream Prakasam Barrage and Bhavanipuram upstream barrage were inundated. Tourist spots— Berm Park and Bhavani Island were also flooded.
The previous TDP government has completed the first phase of retaining wall works to a length of 2.28 km between Ramalingeswara Nagar and Koti Nagar. However, the heavy inflows to River Krishna at Prakasam Barrage from upstream has inundated the localities that are not covered by the retaining wall forcing the authorities to shift hundreds of families to the rehabilitation centres set up at IGMC Stadium and Girls High School, Patamata.
In February 2020, the YSRC government sanctioned `125 crore for the execution of second phase of flood protection wall for a length of 1.6 km between Kanaka Durga Varadhi and Koti Nagar on the banks of River Krishna. M Surya Kala, a flood-hit victim, and a resident of Ranadev Nagar, maintained that she has been staying in the locality for nearly a decade.
Former TDP corporator Chennupati Gandhi said that their strategy is to highlight the failures of the ruling YSRC. The Covid-induced lockdown has badly affected business establishments and other sectors were also hit due to inflation.
From next fiscal, the State government has decided to enhance property tax. At present, the tax is levied only on the constructed building whereas under the new law, tax will be levied on the land on which the building was constructed. Instead of burdening the public, the government should focus on improving services, he suggested.
Kesineni Swetha
TDP mayor candidate
TDP has announced Kesineni Swetha as its mayor candidate. The mayor seat is reserved for general woman category. Elections will be held only for the 64 wards and not for ‘Greater Vijayawada’ formed with the merger of 53 panchayats
