Vijayawada has a unique tradition. Its people name colonies and roads after civil servants to recognise their services in changing the face of the city.
The trend has been on since Vijayawada was a municipality in the 1960s. IAS officer Ajith Singh was the first to receive kudos for his contribution to the development of the city. The latest is Natarajan Gulzar, who vigorously pushed the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in the city.
During Ajith Singh’s tenure, vast stretches of land in abutting villages were acquired for developing the city. The locality that was developed beyond the Government Press area and the Budameru drain is popularly known as “Singh Nagar”, although the Vijayawada Municipality named it ‘Ajith Singh Nagar’.
As the city grew, it was upgraded into a corporation in 1981. The Andhra Pradesh government, in early 1984, planned to construct a transport corporation complex. People of the Bhaskarraopeta slum, where the RTC bus station now stands, were evicted. Urmila Subba Rao, then Municipal Commissioner, walked the extra mile to rehabilitate the displaced. The slum dwellers, who got lands on the outskirts, named the colony Urmila Subba Rao Nagar, say old-timers.
Changing fortunes
Another Commissioner, Rajiv Sharma, succeeded in getting Rs. 50 crore worth of Overseas Development Assistance during his tenure from 1987 to 1990. The scheme was a boon for the city which had 136 identified slums. Many families living on the margins of the highway were rehabilitated in an area, which is now called Rajiv Nagar, recalls the then VMC Standing Committee chairman Samanthapudi Narasaraju.
A road near Payakapuram has been named after Krishna District Collector A.V.S. Reddy. The road changed the fortunes of villagers in the vicinity.
In the recent past, a bridge near Ramalingeswara Nagar has been named Gulzar bridge; the conference hall at the VMC is known as Gulzar Samalochana; and a road near the D.V. Manor is called the Nataraj Gulzar Marg. The city made rapid strides during Mr. Gulzar’s tenure, as many projects were sanctioned under JNNURM.
