Vijayawada is being downgraded to a III-tier city by elected representatives and the State government, P. Gowtham Reddy, district convener of the YSR Congress Party, has alleged.
Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, Mr. Reddy said infrastructure, particularly flyovers and bridges, needed for the city to expand were not being provided.
Earlier, Vijayawada was considered the political capital of the State with all major political meeting being held here. It was also considered the second business capital of the State.
“But today, less significant towns such as Tirupati and Warangal are being given more importance. They are being given the “greater municipal corporation” status and provided funds for expansion,” he said.
He said work on flyovers at Madhuranagar, Gunadala, and Ramavarapadu were not being taken up though they had been sanctioned. In the absence of flyovers, traffic was getting congested on the Ajitsinghnagar flyover.
He said activists of the YSR Congress would take out a padayatra from the huge pits dug for the foundation of a flyover at Gunadala and left without completion to highlight the need for development of infrastructure in the city.
The padayatra would begin from Gunadala at 11 a.m. and go along the Eluru Road, Mr. Reddy said.
