GUNTUR: A city with a history of over 150 years, Guntur has been languishing in terms of development as most of the issues faced by the citizens remain unaddressed.A key trading and commercial hub, the city is home to several industries like tobacco and cotton. Traffic, lack of proper sewer system and damaged roads are some of the many issues that affect the day-to-day life of the citizens of Guntur.
For several decades now, road widening works remain incomplete. Constructed in 1956, Arundeplet rail over bridge (RoB) continues to be the only link to Guntur West and Guntur East. With the increasing number of vehicles, the bridge is not enough for the smooth passing of traffic. Proposals for widening the bridge have been on the cards for the past decade, but there has been no action on the ground due of the officials.
Besides, there are seven approved road under bridges (RUB), including Syamala Nagar, Nehru Nagar, and Sanjeevaiah Nagar, with railway crossings holding up traffic for several minutes causing huge discomfort to commuters.Construction of sewage treatment plants was left midway and the broken roads are yet to be repaired in several areas of the city.
The city is growing and with as many as 10 villages merged into GMC. However, there are no basic amenities like drinking water, roads, and drains.People believed that the formation of a council will be the solution to their woes. However, after the Council was formed after 11 years, civic issues remained.Even after YSRC’s victory in the civic body polls, development works are not up to the expectations of the people.
Additionally, lack of proper coordination between the elected representatives and officials is proving to be a major setback in taking decisions about the administration and development of the city.Many corporators are venting their frustration as they feel that the municipal commissioner is not giving them time to represent public grievances.
They expressed their angst openly during GMC council meetings on more than one occasion, but the situation remains unchanged even after the new commissioner, Kirthi Chekuri, took charge in April this year. On the other hand, the GMC is plagued by a series of corruption scandals forcing the government to transfer city planner and superintendent engineer in a short span.With all these issues left unchecked, the citizens feel that the GMC is loosing a wonderful opportunity to develop the city in a planned manner.