KURNOOL: Though the Kurnool Municipal Corporation came into existence in 1994, elections were held only thrice and the Corporation was under the Special Officer rule for more than 11 years due to court cases. The Kurnool Municipal Corporation has 52 wards including 33 in Kurnool assembly segment limits, 16 in Panyam and three in Kodumuru assembly segments, respectively.
Bangi Ananthaiah of the TDP was elected as the first Mayor of the KMC in 1994 and he served till 1998. Later, Feroz Begum and Raghurami Reddy of the Congress were elected as mayors in the subsequent elections. After 2010, elections were not held in the corporation. The two major political parties are YSRC and TDP, and the BJP-Jana Sena Party alliance has also set its eyes on winning the elections.
Citizens of Kurnool are living in fear during the monsoon as flood safety protection wall to prevent inundation of the city by river Tungabhadra waters still remains a distant dream. The city lacks an underground drainage system and has problems of poor sanitation, drinking water, traffic and the extension colonies lie neglected.
Water, flood safety wall
Drinking water is a major issue as the people are getting potable water only once in two or three days in some localities. At least 70 cusecs of water flow should be ensured in the Tungabhadra River round-the-clock to cater to the drinking water needs of over 5.50 lakh population. On an average, the KMC is supplying below 50 MLD in a day against the total daily need of 72.12 MLD, due to water scarcity. K Sunitha, a resident of NTR Nagar, said the KMC supplies drinking water for only thrice in a week. “We are forced to purchase mineral water for `15 per bottle for our daily needs,’’ she deplored.
The issue of flood safety protection wall around the Kurnool city to prevent inundation from Handri and Tungabhadra flood waters during the monsoon is yet to materialise. Flood safety wall, which was designed 10 years ago, is still on paper. Officials of KMC Irrigation, and Revenue departments have sent a proposal to the government for the construction of the protection wall in 2007, but the works are yet to be started.
“During every rainy season, we live in fear as floods might inundate our houses. We still have the nightmare of 10 years ago when the city was inundated due to the floods. It is high time a permanent solution is found to prevent submergence,” said another citizen.
Traffic, sanitation
Ramana Reddy, a resident of Vijayanagara colony, said the drains are not cleaned regularly and the drainages overflow in their colony. Kiran Kumar Reddy, a resident of Nirmal nagar, said poor maintenance of roads is creating problems for the people and increasing traffic is posing a threat to the pedestrians. The city has approximately 2.5 lakh vehicles including 25,000 autos and the narrow roads are not in a position to accommodate them.
“If city bus services, a long pending demand, are introduced, the dependence on auto rickshaws will automatically come down,’’ said a senior citizen.Sanitation condition is very poor in the city. The garbage piles up on roads at various parts of KMC limits. As many as 250 metric tonnes of garbage is produced daily in the city. Nearly 650 permanent and 500 contract workers are engaged to keep Kurnool clean, but officials said at least 1,000 additional workers are needed to handle the sanitation issue properly.
Promises
Leaders of the political parties promise to resolve the issues if they are elected. “It was only after YS Jagan Mohan Reddy became the Chief Minister, the city witnessed development. Now, the city looks beautiful with widened roads, junction modifications and the drinking water issue is almost solved as we have taken steps to store sufficient water at summer storage tanks,’’ YSRC MLA representing Kurnool Hafeez Khan said and expressed hope that people will vote for the development agenda of Jagan.
TDP Kurnool Assembly in-charge TG Bharat begs to differ and said the city was neglected in the past two years. “We are confident of winning the mayor seat and we will develop the city. Protected water supply and construction of flood safety wall are the need of the hour,’’ he said and added that the TDP will resolve these issues if voted to power.