An imposing arch at the entrance of the Duvvada railway station main approach road draws the attention of motorists coming from Kurmannapalem junction. But, if the drivers let their guard down even for a split second, there is every danger of the car or motorbike falling into a huge crater that occupies over a quarter of the road.
The crater welcomes motorists with a rude shock, after they had a pleasant drive on the National Highway. Those who are regular users of the road are seen taking the extreme right to avoid their cars from falling into the pit.
The road users must thank themselves for the extended summer as any downpour would result in water filling up the pit and the vehicles falling into it. The potholes further down the road up to Annapurna theatre add to the woes of road users and are sometimes resulting in accidents.
Mud spills on to pedestrians and passing vehicles during the rainy seasons and a lot of dust is kicked up during the dry weather causing discomfort to motorists and pedestrians alike.
“Lakhs of people residing in Steel Plant, BHEL (BHPV), NTPC and Hindustan Zinc Townships and Gajuwaka, employees of Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone (VSEZ) and other industries and residents of nearby colonies utilise this road,” says Duvvada Railway Users Association secretary K. Eswar.
“At times, this creates a logjam on the National Highway as the vehicles have to slow down to drive over the crater,” he says and adds, if it rains the road users would not be able to gauge the depth of the pit.
Meanwhile, the authorities have temporarily closed the pit with crusher dust.
