This little settlement was once a hub for eminent advocates such as Kodukula Narasimham, Kurella Someswara Rao, Madhavarao Naidu, Uma Bala and the Akella clan.
No wonder, Prakasa Rao Peta was known as Lawyers’ Street in the early 1970s and also as Kannayyapeta once upon a time. But as the years passed, most of the advocates shifted residences away from the neighbourhood while their mansions have been replaced by clinics, hospitals and apartment blocks. From Waltair Main Road that connects what is popularly known as the Singh Hotel junction and a couple of lanes adjacent to Sri Raghavendra Swami temple, Prakasa Rao Peta is one of the busiest localities in the city. Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital and State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur are popular landmarks here.
Meditation, sloka chanting
At Kurella Mansions, a couple of flats have been dedicated to practising meditation and chanting of slokas. “It was my late father-in-law Kurella Someswara Rao’s wish to run community halls for a good cause. We want more residents to utilise the platform and practise yoga on a regular basis rather than visiting occasionally to celebrate International Day of Yoga and other programmes,” explains Durbha Srinvas, who has been residing in the neighbourhood for the last 30 years.
Residents say the area is deprived of proper roads and drainage system. The narrow roads have to be widened as they turned into an accident-prone zone due to continuous flow of vehicles on the stretch.
Civic problem
While passing through the lanes, one cannot escape the loathsome stench emanating from garbage-filled bins. “The not-so-well maintained drains coupled with uncleared litter bins provide a convenient setting to draw packs of stray dogs and swarms of mosquitoes. As a result, we cannot afford to be far from doctors and hospitals,” says Vemuganti Vasudeva Rao, an 83-year-old dramatist and writer at Prakasa Rao Peta.
Zone III Commissioner V. Chakradhar; Mobile No: 9848889701; Helpdesk No: 0891-2707299.
