VIJAYAWADA: With rains lashing the city for the past few days, potholes dot several roads causing inconvenience to the motorists and pedestrians alike. Due to continuous rainfall since Saturday night, the majority of the roads in Auto Nagar, Moghalrajpuram and One town areas were waterlogged and traffic was thrown out of gear.
Low-lying areas in the city were inundated with rainwater and clogged drains compounded the situation. Many people even pumped out the rainwater from their houses manually. Light showers continued throughout Sunday night, making it a herculean task for the motorists to commute.
“If roads are asphalted as per the suggestions of the Indian Road Congress, they will last for no less than three years. With high-quality material, they won’t need to be repaired for up to five years’’, said Taxpayers Association secretary MV Anjaneyulu. He demanded that civic body officials ensure barricades near potholes to prevent untoward incidents from taking place and work towards making roads pothole-free.
The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) helpline received several calls regarding fallen trees and water logging in various locations across the city. Officials swung into action to restore power supply, which had been disrupted in various parts of the city. ‘’When two days of rain created this much damage, we can’t imagine what the situation would be if it continued for the next three to four days. The civic body officials should clear the drains on war footing to prevent low-lying areas from getting inundated,” said D Chakradhar Rao, a resident of One town area.
When contacted, the VMC officials said that enough number of sanitation staff and machinery was deployed to clear the drains and prevent water stagnation on major thoroughfares of the city. Instructions were also given to the officials concerned to shift the residents of hillslopes, especially near Moghalrajpuram, Gunadala and One town areas, to rehabilitation centres.
Control Room Numbers
Machilipatnam Collectorate can be contacted at 08672- 252847; Vijayawada Camp Office at 0866-2474801; Sub-collector’s office Vijayawada at 0866- 2576217. Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) Nuzvid can be contacted on 08656- 232717, RDO Gudivada at 08674-243697, and RDO Machilipatnam at 08672- 252486