Encroachments eating into Krishna banks

Rich or poor, all occupy land on both side of the river, flouting norms. The CRDA reportedly issued notices to the occupants of some of the luxury villas.

May 04, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 04:26 pm IST - VIJAYAWADA:

High-rise buildings coming up on the banks of Krishna River near Vijayawada. Photo:Ch.Vijaya Bhaskar

High-rise buildings coming up on the banks of Krishna River near Vijayawada. Photo:Ch.Vijaya Bhaskar

Rampant encroachment is eating into the banks of Krishna River as it approached the urban conglomeration of Vijayawada.

The left bank has been allegedly encroached by thousands of poor families that have migrated to the city in search of green pastures and the right bank too has been occupied. But, not by the poor, but by the rich and famous, apparently seeking the seclusion of nature. While the house of those on the left bank occupies 20 yards, the bathrooms of the bungalows on the right bank occupied the same stretch of land.

Technically, neither those living on the left bank nor those spending weekends on the opposite bank have the right to be there. Those on the left bank periodically get notices and threats either from the Irrigation Department or the Municipal Corporation to evict the area. But, those on the opposite bank are allegedly exempted, thanks to the money power.

Major Irrigation Minister Devineni Umamaheswara Rao came close to threatening those on the right bank when he asked his department to submit a report on the status of the bungalows that have come up along the bank. The heat died down later and the Minister told the media that the report had been handed over to the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) for further action. The CRDA reportedly issued notices to the occupants of some of the luxury villas.

The buildings have been constructed in violation of rules and several subsequent GOs enacted to protect the rivers and drinking water sources. No “permanent” structure is allowed either on the flood (river) banks or the river bed, says the River Conservancy Act, 1884.

Environmental activists have on several occasions highlighted Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department GO 111, dated March 8, 1996, which prohibited the development of industries, hotels, residential colonies and other establishment that generate pollution in 10 km from the full level mark of a water body that was a source of drinking water.

Krishna River is the source of fresh water for Vijayawada, Guntur, Eluru, Gudivada and thousands of villages draw water from the Krishna canals to fill their tanks.

According to the data on the Central Pollution Control Board, there has been an increase in the conductivity, an index of dissolved salts, in the water of Krishna River after it crosses Vijayawada. The GO111 was issued under the Chief Ministerial tenure of N. Chandrababu Naidu, the activists say.

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